FATHER JOHN MISTY
Mahashmashana (Bella Union)
Since his brief stint with folk-rockers Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty has carved out a unique career as a protean musician, shifting seamlessly between genres to great acclaim. Mahashmashana finds him doing more of the same, with his pithy, observational lyrics set to a range of clashing styles.
There’s bravery and artistic self-assurance here: the opening and closing tracks are bathed in lush 60s strings with everything from jazz-pop to lo-fi rock in between. But on first listen I really found it difficult to get into. Drew Erickson’s relentless orchestral arrangement of the eponymous opener smothers Father John Misty’s gentle voice.
The hard left into the dirty groove of She Cleans Up, and Father John Misty’s light delivery, makes the second song a tricky track to take seriously. It may be an album somebody needs to hear but, after living with it for a week, I could only admire the execution and audacity.
words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES
