Album Review: Father John Misty Is God’s Favorite Customer
If there is one thing you can rely on, when it comes to Father John Misty (FJM), is a balance between cynicism and optimism. The duality of both loving a plain, good time while also denouncing it as a possibility or “reality” feels like the epicenter within his new album: God’s Favorite Customer. The record is a ten track opus into how love and happiness are not hard to find, they are simply hard to feel good enough for.
Coming out June 1, God’s Favorite Customer tussles and toils between intimate, piano ballads like, “The Songwriter” and,”The Palace”, and gives mindfully reeling tracks like, “Mr. Tillman”, “Date Night”, and “Disappointing Diamonds Are The Rarest of Them All”. Yet, no matter what, each of FJM’s songs appear like a self-destructing romantic trying to feel hopeful through love. Personally, as a cynic trying to be positive, I nose-dived into the lyrics of tracks like, “Please Don’t Die” and “Just Dumb Enough To Try” because, again, they display the love/hate relationship we can have with the things/people that make us happy. Why? Because though we love someone, when we do not feel worthy of their love or Love, itself, self-sabotage rears its head.
One of the hardest parts about being in a relationship is realizing it doesn’t heal you. In some ways, that is why we may diminish a partner or turn him or her away; we thought their love could “save us” when, instead, it amplified that we can only save ourselves. Certainly, a relationship pushes us to see what we need to heal about ourself and even makes us eager to do so, but God’s Favorite Customer is about the struggle to transfer want into desire. The love we hold for people moves us to be loving towards other while teaching us that such feats require self-love.
From “Hangout At The Gallows” to “God’s Favorite Customer”, melodically, this record feels like an acoustic epic. FJM goes from big, gregarious hooks to small, crawling choruses, giving the beautiful vibe of a heart trying to find a centered rhythm. Fans of Father John Misty will ADORE the record and hail it as “genius”, which no one can deny FJM’s creativity and unique capacity to go from sarcastic to serious. Sonically, there is no other artist like him, but, more importantly, there is no other artist that feels like him. God’s Favorite Customer has some of the most honest words and heartbreaking instrumentals on how hard it is to give in, grow up, and be better for the one you love. To Buy God’s Favorite Customer Click Here.
