Father John Misty has shared some insight into his next album, including the sound, inspiration and song titles.

Earlier this year, Josh Tillman told NME that he was ‘almost done‘ was his upcoming fourth record under the name of Father John Misty. While ‘Pure Comedy‘ was only released earlier this year, the next album is scheduled for release in 2018.

Now, with working song titles including ‘Ouch, I’m Drowning’, ‘Dum Dum Blues’, ‘Mr Tillman, Please Exit The Lobby’, And ‘Well, We’re Only People And There’s Nothing Much We Can Do About It’, he’s described the record as “the real ‘I Love You, Honeybear’ but without the cynicism’.


“Most of this next album was written in a six-week period where I was kind of on the straits,” he told the new issue of Uncut.”I was living in a hotel for two months. It’s kind of about… yeah… misadventure. The words were just pouring out of me. It’s really rooted in something that happened last year that was… well, my life blew up. I think the music essentially serves the purpose of making the painful and the isolating less painful and less isolating. But in short, it’s a heartache album.”

Quizzed on what inspired the ‘heartache’, Tillman replied: “I think I instinctually understood that if I blew everything up, I could put it back together better than it was. But look, I don’t want to talk about what happened. Maybe in 30 years from now I will. I know that sounds dramatic. But to talk to me about what this album’s about, I’d have to bring other people into the picture who don’t want to be.”

Recorded with producer Jonathan Rado after Tillman played drums on Adam Green’s record last summer, the album is said to feature ‘dangerous guitars’ and ‘an eccentric percussive sound’.

“It’s got ten songs,” Tillman told NME about the new record. He went on to describe his last two albums as “pretentious” and “squarely concept records”, stating that his next LP will instead have “kinda spritely BPMs” and will be released in 2018.

Father John Misty will return to the UK to perform at Victoria Park for London’s new All Points East Festival – alongside Beck, Bjork and many more. Visit here for tickets and more details.

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