There was really no
question as to which album was going to get top spot this year. Some years I agonise over it, but – aside
from the very late push from Slaves
– 2015 was all about I Love You, Honeybear. It is a record that I have played so consistently
often since its release in February that it had long been pretty clear that it was going to be my album of
the year.
Josh Tillman has used his Father John Misty pseudonym to ditch the minimalist
singer-songwriter approach of the past, and it has allowed him to grow into
something quite exceptional. I Love
You, Honeybear is a deeply personal record about Tilman’s life and his
relationship with his wife (at various stages).
For a record that is fundamentally about love it is honest to the point
of discomfort and eschews all of the lyrical and poetic conventions usually
associated with love songs. It revels in
human failing – both Tillman’s own and his wife’s – an approach that results in
some of the most original, interesting and beautiful lyrics on any record that I
own. It’s dark, but it is also funny
and, fundamentally, about joy. Music
journalist Mike Powell said in his review of the album that it was ‘so cynical
it’s repulsive and so openhearted it hurts’: very true, but this ignores that
it is also about going past those things.
Musically,
Tillman plays around with folk, rock, piano ballads and big band. There’s not a clear single musical style, but
it nonetheless all fits together as a coherent whole. The music perfectly fits the lyrical content,
and each track slots into its place in the wider album. Ultimately, every single track is
astonishingly good in all respects. Can’t
find higher praise than that for an album.
This is a record that I will be playing for decades to come.
sample track: The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt.
sample track: The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt.
