Father John Misty - Fear Fun (Sub Pop, 2012)

Father John Misty

Fear Fun

Sub Pop

2012

Rating: 7 nude doctors out of 10

J. Tillman aka the former drummer from Fleet Foxes is now known as Father John Misty, for reasons that are not entirely clear.  But who here doesn't like adopting a new fake name that will possibly fool people into thinking you are a preacher?  

Perhaps it was coincidence or because the name change prodded the songwriting portion of his brain down a different path, but this album seems to have a fuller, lusher, even twangier sound than his previous records. You could almost come up with different comparison on a song-by-song basis, but some combination of canyon rock like Beachwood Sparks and the Byrds along with indie folk akin to the first Iron & Wine record or the occasional Pedro the Lion song would give you the general ballpark.  The whole record is great, but the second track "Nancy From Now On" is a contender for song of the year, or at least top 10.