Fear Fun

After officially retiring for good from drumming duties with Seattle folk heroes Fleet Foxes, J. Tillman has decided to adopt the new moniker of Father John Misty for his current record Fear Fun, presumably in a bid to make a fresh start of things. Inspired by a bout of depression and “enough mushrooms to choke a horse,” this 12-track effort may be Father John’s first outing, but Tillman has already released seven slabs of wax under his birth name. Nonetheless, it bristles with such a youthful-seeming, apparently precocious enthusiasm that at times it feels like you’re listening to a debut. Highlights include the tender ‘O I Long To Feel Your Arms Around Me’ and the electrified ‘Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings’. Aided by its odd back story, this is fascinating stuff.