Father John Misty came out with his new album “Pure Comedy” last Friday — his third experiment in analyzing the world through an album.
The thesis of Father John Misty’s album is not taking human existence so seriously, describing life as pure comedy. From our brains being too large for the birth canal as we are born to committing the very sins we work to eradicate, Misty displays the irony and insignificance of human existence.
From politics and religion to his music and fans, nothing is off-limits for Misty to prove that humans can take themselves far too seriously.
While the ideas presented in the album are grandiose, the music itself is more mundane. Compared to his first two albums, “Fear Fun” and “I Love You, Honeybear,” his new music is slower and feels less exciting.
The folky acoustic guitar paired with pianos, drums and occasional choirs are interesting and effective conduits for his message. There are moments that stand out, such as jazzy saxophones on the first track or powerful brass chords on the third.
Tempo and rhythm, however, may not vary as much as the listener desires. The album, more than anything, is cathartic, and the musical styles needed for such an album are consistently balladic.
Misty acknowledges this aspect of the music as less attractive to his audience on the album itself, writing that this music will make his fans “jump ship” and “want to die.”
It is this attitude of not seeing his work as particularly weighty or important that encapsulates the charm of “Pure Comedy.”
That being said, this is not a party or feel-good album; it’s one to make listeners think and change their perspectives.
Most listeners will come away from this album taking their lives less seriously, humbly accepting the contradictions they hold in their beliefs about themselves, the rest of humanity and God.
The lack of reverence for issues that are usually seen as extremely important, such as climate change, governments toppling or God being dethroned, demonstrate Misty’s undeniable wit.
He is able to offend, intrigue and change the listener throughout the album, allowing him to stand out as an artist.
Lyrically, the album is smart and entertaining yet profound and moving. It is one of the few that could be converted into a book of poetry and still succeed.
The importance of the lyrics is expressed musically through Misty’s well-executed vocals. Both soft and powerful in the right moments, Misty’s voice provides the contrast the listener may crave from mostly homogenous instrumental parts.
The vocals also convey the Misty’s ideas and emotions in a way that easily connects to the listener. Unlike music that contemplates specific circumstances, “Pure Comedy” presents ideas about what human existence is and how it looks from an objective perspective. Because the subject matter is so broad, Misty chooses issues that affect a wide array of people, such as climate change, globalization and religion.
Misty deals with these ideas in a way that makes many people uncomfortable, such as considering an insurrection from the inevitably destructive forces of climate change. This is all in an attempt to move the listener toward the idea that humans are, on a universal scale, insignificant, meaning we shouldn’t take our own experiences so seriously.
He counterbalances this point by revealing that the human experience is the only one offered to us and that life within this experience is a gift.
The ability to make an album that analyzes the smallness and unimportance of our species highlights the beauty and value of the human experience. The irony that life can be pure comedy and a gift at the same time is a powerful, moving idea that will have listeners coming back to reanalyze the lyrical genius of Father John Misty.
