​Basement’s Best: Father John Misty head over heels on “Honeybear”

J. Tillman is in love.

Ordinarily, such an opening statement would be irrelevant, but considering the larger-than-life, Don Juan-esque persona that the ex-Fleet Fox hatched for his debut as Father John Misty, such a change in narrative is worth noting.

Whereas “Fear Fun” was a gonzo telling of an ayahuasca-fueled dive headfirst into that which lies further beneath the City of Angels’ underbelly, “I Love You, Honeybear” captures the confounding complexities of love and matrimony. Here, we find our Father trading in his notched belt for a wedding band as he partially details the true love story of Tillman and wife Emma, and revels in the elation of love, the terror of meeting nebulously-defined marital expectations and the pondering of the difference between “’til death” and “eternity.”

As if to embolden the thematic shift from wayward horndoggery to devoted husbandhood, Tillman’s sonic palette, too, is turned upside-down. Gone are the juke joint fiddles and honky-tonk piano plunks; here they are replaced by tuxedo-tailed string arrangements and the twinkling of grander ivories.

The transformation from red-eyed roamer to straight-faced crooner is no small one, however. Though Tillman is surely aware that he risks alienating the same audience that climbed aboard for his Hollywood Cemetery tour, he knows that that old black magic lies in his incomparably oblique lyricism, and he wisely expands on that worldly wordsmithing.

Though not particularly evident in the album’s cheeky title, those expecting a Father John Mushy album are mistaken, and will find themselves corrected once the satin façade of the Nilsson-inspired balladry fades.

When he bellows that love is just “an institution based on human frailty” or “an economy based on resource scarcity,” it’s a sly nod that, although Misty’s a taken man, at the end of the day, it’s somebody else taking his name.

KNDS Suggests

“Pedestrian at Best” – Courtney Barnett

In announcing the anxiously awaited follow-up to her breakout “Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas,” Barnett, whose work has been heralded as some of rock’s finest lyricism since (pick one: Dylan, Springsteen, Cohen, Smith), released this thrashing nugget.

At a breakneck pace, Barnett sends an explicit message for critics with too-high expectations (“Put me on a pedestal and I’ll only disappoint you/Tell me I’m exceptional, I promise to exploit you), as a reminder that, hey, it’s just an album, man.

“Leaf Off/The Cave” - José González

Hypnotically rhythmic, González’s first proper solo single since 2007 is hardly divergent from the eerie luminescence that’s emanated from basically all of his work. But considering the consistent greatness of those 15-plus years’ worth of output, would you really ask for anything different?

“Reconfiguration” – Other Lives

After being hand-picked by Thom Yorke to open for a leg of Radiohead’s 2012 tour, the band seems to have taken a page or two from their post-everything forebears. Conjuring a desert-like desolation with Morriconian guitar accents and frontman Jesse Tabish’s ghostly drawl, the Oklahoma trio reintroduces itself with a markedly less rustic offering than their previous work.

“EarthEE” – THEESatisfaction ft. Shabazz Palaces, Porter Ray & Erik Blood

Though afro-futurist jazzonaut Sun Ra passed more than two decades ago, his astral leanings run deep through the music of Stasia “Stas” Irons and Catherine “Cat” Harris-White. Light years beyond left-field, the Seattle rap duo has its own gravitational pull.

“Tranquility” – Matthew E. White

https://soundcloud.com/matthew-e-white/tranquility...

Released on the anniversary of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death, White’s tribute to the late actor is not simply an elegy for a man, but for the craft and artistry that went along with him. Somber yet celebrative, “Tranquility” roughly equates to the millennial update of “Candle in the Wind.”