Father John Misty, Total Entertainment Forever | Track Review 🎵

On exceptional single “Total Entertainment Forever,” Father John Misty continues to build up anticipation for his 3rd LP, Pure Comedy.

Father John Misty (Josh Tillman) is an epic songwriter.  There’s no getting around the fact that the man is a beast.  His new album, Pure Comedy, projects to be another fantastic offering, much like I Love You, Honeybear (2015). “Total Entertainment Forever” gives the alternative singer/songwriter another winning single. Expectedly, Tillman’s lyrics are absurd – outlandish.  This is nothing new.  Father John Misty has been doing this for a minute.

“Bedding Taylor Swift
Every night inside the Oculus Rift
After mister and the missus finish dinner and the dishes
And now the future’s definition is so much higher than it was last year.”

While he has a creative, wild imagination, he’s not as crazy as he seems.  Throughout the course of “Total Entertainment Forever” – particularly the ending – Father John Misty paints a picture of the new reality, which is absurd as the lyrics he pens.  At one point, he sings:

“No gods to rule us
No drugs to soothe us
No myths to prove stuff
No love to confess us
Not bad for a race of demented monkeys
From a cave to a city to a permanent party.”

Ultimately, it’s clear that Tillman is taking a shot at where the human race stands and ultimately how much worse it will become.  His sarcasm is both out of control yet alarmingly on point.  At the end, it is clear that the future looks bleak in his eyes:

“When the historians find us we’ll be in our homes
Plugged into our hubs
Skin and bones
A frozen smile on every face
As the stories replay
This must have been a wonderful place.”

Final Thoughts

As always, Father John Misty makes the listener think and truly analyze his subject matter.  The brief “Total Entertainment Forever” is another perfect opportunity.  Josh Tillman maintains the utmost consistency, digging deeper than many of your average singer-songwriters.  Pure Comedy is poised to be a hoot.

Father John Misty • Pure Comedy • Sub Pop • Release: 4.7.17 

Picture Credit: Sub Pop