After a decade being born, Josh Tillman is finally busy dying.

Father John Misty returns to Iowa tonight on October 1st at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines for the first time since performing at 80/35 festival in 2022, a show I was not only at, but also vaguely remember. He is supported by Cut Worms, a soft rock singer-songwriter from Ohio who’s been accompanying this leg of the tour throughout the central, southern, and midwestern U.S. This current tour celebrating the release of Father John Misty’s most recent album, Mahashmashana, has been going practically non-stop since February traveling across and back from the U.S. and Europe. Tonight’s show will feature most of his hit songs since 2012 woven between tracks from the new Mahashmashana, and yes, he will probably play the Tiktok song. If we’re lucky, he might even hit us with an ego-death-and-cigarette-fueled monologue about something or nothing in particular.

The latest album’s title is sourced from the Sanskrit word Mahāśmaśāna (महाश्मशान) defined as “great cremation ground, all things going thither.” Though not quite as “viral” as his standout singles and Lana Del Rey collaborations, Mahashmashana oozes an Old Hollywood jazz with wild terrors blended into the soft rock. It navigates themes of mental health and death on a jarring rollercoaster of psychedelic jazz, to sweeping strings, to uptempo rock n’ cowbells. It’s genuine and spiritual in a way that (historically) Father John Misty once tended to subvert. His real name is Josh Tillman, and he’s a former member of Fleet Foxes, so not actually a priest. In the past with albums like God’s Favorite Customer and Pure Comedy, his persona developed into something strangely caustic and haughty, using his own self-awareness to poke at fans who lacked the same particular trait. Despite mellowing out since then (nearly a decade ago), he’s still a sort of contentious figure in the music world, words like pretentious, spiteful, and douchebag are often associated with his character.

Mahashmashana, all is silent
And in thе next universal dawn
Won’t have to do thе corpse dance, do the corpse dance
Do the corpse dance with these on

Mahashmashana, by Father John Misty, 2024

The last time I saw Father John Misty in 2022 (newly bald-ed), I had just finished by first year of college and could not imagine what life after my graduation would hold (it was another degree thus more college). But most things aren’t the same, all the loose pieces of my life since that summer have changed and continue to shift as everything in the world starts, ends, and breathes in the dissonance. I’ll be soaking in the haze of Des Moines air and stale marijuana scent on the corpse dance floor tonight. I’m preparing by setting myself in that nauseating heady mood as I get ready to head over to Val Air, packed only with the absolute essentials: a silver cross and loose tobacco.

Tickets for the event are for sale from First Fleet Concerts here.

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While the majority of Honeybear’s tracks have a classic folk-rock sound supplemented by modern production, “True Affection” goes full-electronic. Tillman’s words reject digital communication in favor of physical intimacy, carrying the promise that a lover’s affection is more tangible in person than online.

You can listen to “True Affection” below, and purchase I Love You, Honeybear at iTunes. And be sure to grab tickets to see Father John Misty, Sunday, at Mission Creek Festival!

The post Track of the Week: “True Affection” by Father John Misty appeared first on KRUI Radio.

By his own humble admission, the 33-year-old was never going to stick with drumming for long – Tillman has in fact been writing and playing his own songs on guitar since high school. I Love You, Honeybear is his eleventh full-length album, and his second as Father John Misty.

Honeybear is a surprisingly intimate look into Tillman’s relationship with his wife, Emma. His nitty-gritty lyrics sometimes tip toward cartoonish vulgarity, but the music’s lush, folksy quality and Tillman’s whiskey-soaked vocals strike a pleasant tone throughout.

Sexual honesty is prevalent from the title track, which details the staining of “the Rorschach sheets where we make love” to a serene psychedelic-folk waltz. Drug use and talk of demonic conception are also featured, making you wonder just how deep Tillman’s tongue is dug into his cheek on this one.

“Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)” and “True Affection” are two remarkably different early highlights. “Chateau” is a gently galloping ode to the giddiness of young love. Here we begin to get a disarmingly real picture of the Tillmans’ relationship – one that isn’t spattered with body fluids: “first time, you let me stay the night despite your own rules/you took off early to go cheat your way through film school/you left a note in your perfect script: ‘stay as long as you want’/I haven’t left your bed since.”

“True Affection” is a completely unexpected injection of cool electronica; a take down of digital communication’s impersonal nature. Tillman’s versatility as a musician really shines through on this track, which complements the other songs conceptually despite its outward musical differences.

Honeybear’s biggest surprise is “True Affection,” but as a whole the album is an exquisitely well-written, refreshingly honest entry in the overcrowded (overbearded?) modern folk-pop roster. Tales of unwanted come-ons at seedy bars (“Nothing Good Ever Happens At The Goddamn Thirsty Crow”) and middle-class, white-bread ennui (“Bored in the USA”) work to expand the lyrical confines beyond the story of the Tillmans and the love they’ve cultivated, but the Father never abandons his record’s conceptual heart.

Assuming the listener is of legal drinking age, this is one for a Sunday night – whiskey close at hand.

You can purchase I Love You, Honeybear on iTunes.

And even better, you can see Father John Misty yourself at Iowa City’s Mission Creek Festival! Buy tickets for the April 5th show here.

The post Album Review: I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Five men and one woman make up the group. They are currently on tour with The Daredevil Christopher Wright, with whom they also recently released a split 7” record entitled “A Man of the Arts” together. Cuddle Magic’s mesmerizing sound is comprised of strange melodies, harmonies, and bridges. the band uses multiple guitars, a bass (which happily wears a teal button-down shirt), drums, and bells to create such a style which is reminiscent of the stylings of Vampire Weekend, The Postal Service, and Passion Pit.

After entertaining the audience with a few numbers, including “Expectations,” the band turned it over to the Daredevil Christopher Wright, who took the stage at 11 PM.

As the three Daredevil men (Jon Sunde, Jason Sunde, and Jesse Edgington) took the stage, they pointed out their Wisconsin heritage but complemented Iowa City. “It’s always a pleasure to play in Iowa City,” Jon Sunde remarked. “I really admire the Iowa Writer’s Workshop.” The group strummed their acoustic and electric guitars and played the drums and the glockenspiel for a solid hour and a half. Such a conglomeration of instruments mixed with the sweet sustaining harmonies of the band members created a phenomenal sound. Similar to Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, The Daredevil’s style consists of random chords, oohs and aahs, echoes, and whistling. A number of the band’s hits, including “Divorce,” “Ames, IA,” “The Daredevil Christopher Wright,” and “We Fold Inside of Us” captivated the audience for the evening. When the night was finished, the audience insisted upon an encore. The Daredevil consented and played “East Coast.” “Now you’re going to graduate school…” the ensemble sang while a group of students in the corner cheered and waved their arms. By 12:30, the concert wrapped up and the members of both bands milled around The Mill, happy to talk with fans and admirers.

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