Though I suppose it doesn’t matter so much on record, Father John Misty definitely looks the part. The identity adopted by Josh Tillman, at least as far back as the exemplary 2012 album Fear Fun, calls to mind some odd and mildly lackadaisical man of the cloth, which is roughly what the singer-songwriter presents with his lanky frame, propensity for bargain suits, and a beard so thick and bodacious it looks like the merest provocation could send it scuttling off to begin a new life as an especially posh footstool. He looks like he’s comes in from a gnarly forest after … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: I Love You, Honeybear

I believe I officially have to rethink my standing policy of greeting all band reunions with unyielding skepticism that extends to the point of preemptive dismissal. I’ll admit it’s been outdated for a while, a vestige of the time when I and many of my fellow college radio-reared music snob cohorts measured artistic credibility beginning with a consideration of distance from anything that could be termed selling out. Decisions seemingly made on the basis of readily available dollars rather than following some fictitious muse were commonly met with peak animosity, and getting the band back together was one of those … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: No Cities to Love

(Picture) The backlash, it seems, is officially underway. While plenty of the more venerable publications have predictably lined up with dutiful raves, befitting the Akron duo’s new status as the last great hope of rock ‘n’ roll in a Miley Cyrus pop flare universe, there have also been equally expected kneejerk naysaying, led by a scalding from Pitchfork severe enough to prompt drummer Patrick Carney to sarcastically reference it during an appearance on The Colbert Report. The truth between these markedly different reactions, as it so often does, lies somewhere in between. Turn Blue is unmistakably a Black Keys record. … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Turn Blue