Mahashmashana - Father John Misty: Review

Father John Misty

is a name as synonymous with the last 10 years of indie music as anyone. From this acclaimed collection of love songs I Love You, Honeybear to his politically conscious opus Pure Comedy he's been a surprisingly ambitious, though occasionally divisive musician. A few years ago he released Chloe And The Next 20th Century whose themes included a pop culture reference-heavy take on old Hollywood sounds. Thought I liked the record it was his least universally acclaimed in a while. Mahashamashana hasn't been met with the same fate, at least among his core fanbase. With single after single lauded by listeners and critics alike, this quickly became one of my most anticipated albums of the year. 

Let's start with those singles because they're an unreasonably great bunch. "I Guess TIme Just Makes Fools Of Us All" kicked things off as a sauntering 8-minute jam with a vibrant brass section and one of the slickest grooves I've heard all year. It takes the form of an old Dylan song piling verses on top of verses and punctuating them with a repeated refrain at the end and every second of it is genuinely irresistible. The second single "Screamland" is a few minutes shorter but no less of a journey. It's a slower and more dramatic song that cuts its most dejected moments with glistening eruptions into a cascading chorus that's set up so well compositionally. Both of these songs could be twice as long and I'd still love them. 

Somehow the best single of the bunch came next with "She Cleans Up." It's one of the best fucking songs I've ever heard and even if that's a slight exaggeration I can't even count how many times I've listened to it the past few weeks. It's almost unbelievable that a song can be so witty and sharply penned that it's genuinely laugh-out-loud funny while also being brain-meltingly catchy at the same time. In the deep cuts there's another absolute smash with the track "Josh Tillman And The Accidental Dose." First and foremost the song has the funniest opening lyrics I think I've ever heard in my life and its slinky little instrumental is the absolute perfect accompaniment. As you'd expect the song is a story about a bad acid trip Josh went on, but of course his version of a bad trip manifests hilariously with eye-rolling intellectualism that he treats like actual torture and medicates it with hilarious retorts. The discordant strings that eventually work their way into the song are a great touch and this I just a straight up world-class example of his storytelling. 

The album proper opens with a bang on "Mahashmashana," an extravagant 9-minute opener and title track, a familiar formula for FJM fans. Like a lot of his lengthier tracks the scope of the song is enormous as he sets his analytical lens on the state of the universe and the very concept of being. The instrumentation backing the song is verbose and layered and manages to build convincingly. Even as the last verse feels nihilistic the sound of the song is utterly triumphant and the perfect cherry on top of the lengthy journey it took to get there. Closing track "Summer's Gone" is another highlight with Josh playing the album off over his piano musings like he's Kermit. The metaphorical hook of the song is about wishing for gloomy days until summer is over and then realizing how much you miss it. That's framed through references to Josh's previous works and a hilarious final line that feels like a purposeful affront to everything he said throughout the rest of the record. 

Even when the deep cuts get more reserved sonically they continue to have details, particularly on the lyrical end, that are worth digging into. "Mental Health" is a fittingly titled track that frames a conversation between Josh and his own mental health. It's kind of nebulous and slowly unfolding but the spread-out refrains include quite a bit of interesting things Josh has to say even if the hook isn't a total home run. "Being You" is an attempt to engage with detachment where Josh muses on having to get to know himself all over again eventually concluding with him asking "what's it like to be you?" It's another piano number though one that's much more sentimental than slinky as it patiently glides through a gentle cloudiness that channels the same dissociative feelings that inspired the song. 

This album fucking rules. Father John Misty has made great records in the past singing about loved ones, contemporaries, and even the entire history of the human race, but Mahashmashana is an analysis of self. It's an ego death played out through 8 indulgent but absolutely irresistible songs soaked in some of the wittiest songwriting Josh has ever served up and that's absolutely saying something. From its liveliest and most danceable peaks to its intimate and most reflective valleys, Josh is crafting songs and stories in the way that only he can. I'm happy to report that, even with several of my favorite indie albums of the last 10 years under his belt, this is among the best things he's ever released and among the best albums I've heard this year. 9/10

For more indie check out my review of Soccer Mommy's Evergreen