The sombre opening tune of Father John Misty’s follow-up to his acclaimed 2017 album Pure Comedy is impressive. Don’t get too used to the drums and the bouncy jazz piano fills of ‘Hanging Out At The Gallows’ – the album rarely gets as lively again. A deftly introspective piece of work, God’s Favourite Customer works exquisitely when its plaintive moments creep into your soul – you can’t help but be seduced by the record’s exquisite melancholy. When Misty sings “Friends, oh my friends/ I hope you’re somewhere smiling” on ‘We’re Only People (And There’s Not Much Anybody Can Do About That)’, it’s delivered as if yearning for some lost human connection. Elsewhere, there are further reflective moments, notably ‘The Palace’ and the title-track, both of which are among the album’s finest moments. The production, by Misty and a variety of collaborators – including Jonathan Wilson, Foxygen’s Jonathan Radio and others – is for the most part warm and unobtrusively lush, despite briefly veering into ELO-style bombast with ‘Disappointing Diamonds Are The Rarest of Them All’. We won’t hold that against him. There’s a sense of ’70s Laurel Canyon bohemia to Misty’s work, though he occasionally blurs the lines between sincerity and irony, when a bit more raw honesty wouldn’t go amiss. Regardless of his lyrical ambiguity, however, ultimately it’s the pathos of the music that reigns supreme. The Maryland artist’s somewhat lugubrious tones may prove a slog for the uninitiated, but surely the Father’s faithful will find plenty here to celebrate. OUT JUNE 1

Rating: 7/10