Father John Misty / God's Favorite Customer
Album: God's Favorite Customer   Collection:General
Artist:Father John Misty   Added:Jun 2018
Label:Sub Pop Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2018-06-18 Pull Date: 2018-08-20
Week Ending: Aug 26 Aug 19 Aug 12 Aug 5 Jul 29 Jul 22 Jul 15 Jul 8
Airplays: 2 3 1 5 3 6 4 5

Recent Airplay
1. Apr 03, 2024: The Library
Disappointing Diamonds Are The Rarest Of Them All
4. Sep 24, 2021: KZSU Time Traveler
Mr. Tillman
2. Oct 20, 2022: The Library
Disappointing Diamonds Are The Rarest Of Them All
5. Aug 04, 2021: ad hoc variety show (rebroadcast from Jul 17, 2018)
Just Dumb Enough To Try, Mr. Tillman
3. Mar 18, 2022: The Library (rebroadcast from Aug 1, 2018)
Disappointing Diamonds Are The Rarest Of Them All
6. Jul 28, 2021: 2.73 Kelvin (rebroadcast from Aug 1, 2018)
Please Don't Die

Album Review
DJ Stace
Reviewed 2018-06-15
God's Favorite Customer / Father John Misty

Label: Sub Pop

Reviewed: 6/13/2018

DJ Stace

Fourth Studio album from Father John Misty, J.Tillman's Elton John channeling malconent alter-ego. The theme's here seem as coherent as Pure Comedy's, but more desperate than confrontational. The wit remains intact and the tongue firmly in cheek, within this collection of slightly more empathetic songs.

FCCs: Clean

RIYL: Elton John, Flaming Lips, J. Tillman, Fleet Foxes,... (Ryan Adams ;-))

Favorites: 2,3,4,7

Particular favorites are:
1. "Hangout at the Gallows" (or "You've the Answer") 4:55 - Loping toe tapper gets all epic with piano and strings and stuff at the outro about 4:00.
2. *** "Mr. Tillman" (or "Bowery") 3:03 - Quite funny solo call and response around life in a hotel he's apparently well established at. This one is SUPER catchy and will having you singing along in no time. Rock star problems. I love any rock song with whistling, and J.T. is a pretty great whistler. Underneath the jest, this one also seems to be a dialog about losing control.
3. ** "Just Dumb Enough to Try" 4:02 - J. Tillman is pretty great at love songs. I suppose that's attributed to his muse/wife.
4. **** "Date Night" 2:30 - Fun uptempo, low-fi bluesy toe-tapper. Currently my favorite tune on the album. Ends abruptly.
5. "Please Don't Die" 3:24 - Tillman deftly navigates the lovesong genre, if perhaps a bit morbidly, again. Dialog between J and his wife. Real love, baby.
6. "The Palace" (or "I Love You But No, You're Not") 4:09 - Showing off his "Elton John without a filter" shops, a slow sombre missive about navigating depression, it seems, through sequestration. This song is, perhaps, the more sombre sequel to track #2, "Mr. Tillman."
7. *** "Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All" 2:23 - Love this one. The falsetto chorus is one of my favorite moments on the album. Soars and sways with FJM's wry take on people's personal love stories and myths. FJM doing his best snarky Elton John.
8. "God's Favorite Customer" 5:21 - Slow to Mid tempo straightforward piano ballad commenting on unanswered prayers and cashing in the faith of one's past in an atheist present in crisis.
9. "The Songwriter" 3:45 - Slow, pretty piano and vocal conversational take on how trying it must be to be his muse. Perhaps demonstrating a bit of guilt in sharing the personal, publicly and, more importantly, finding success in it.
10. "We're Only People (And There's Not Much Anyone Can Do About That)" 5:02 - Existential and lofty musing on the nature of being human and surviving yourselves and life. Reminds me a bit more of Paul McCartney and Wings, here, than Elton. Good closer, but not the stand out of the album.

Track Listing
1. Hangout At The Gallows   6. The Palace
2. Mr. Tillman   7. Disappointing Diamonds Are The Rarest Of Them All
3. Just Dumb Enough To Try   8. God's Favorite Customer
4. Date Night   9. The Songwriter
5. Please Don't Die   10. We're Only People (And There's Not Much Anyone Can Do About That)