Pure Comedy

Description

Pure Comedy, Father John Mistyu2019s third album, is a complex, often-sardonic, and, equally often, touching meditation on the confounding folly of modern we could say a lot aboutu00a0Pure Comedyu00a0u2013 including that it is a bold, important album in the tradition of American songwriting greats like Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, and Leonard Cohen u2013 we think itu2019s best to let its creator describe it himself. Take it away, Mr. Tillman:Pure Comedyu00a0is the story of a species born with a half-formed brain. The speciesu2019 only hope for survival, ufb01nding itself on a cruel, unpredictable rock surrounded by other species who seem far more adept at this whole thing (and to whom they are delicious), is the reliance on other, slightly older, half-formed brains. This reliance takes on a few different names as their story unfolds, like u201clove,u201d u201cculture,u201d u201cfamily,u201d etc. Over time, and as their brains prove to be remarkably good at inventing meaning where there is none, the species becomes the purveyor of increasingly bizarre and sophisticated ironies. These ironies are designed to help cope with the speciesu2019 loathsome vulnerability and to try and reconcile how disproportionate their imagination is to the monotony of their existence. Something like Comedyu00a0was recorded in 2016 at the legendary United Studios (Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Beck) in Hollywood, CA. It was produced by Father John Misty and Jonathan Wilson, with engineering by Mistyu2019s longtime sound-person Trevor Spencer and orchestral arrangements by renowned composer/double-bassist Gavin Bryars (known for extensive solo work, and work with Brian Eno, Tom Waits, Derek Bailey).