Father John Misty Chloe And The Next 20th Century 2LP

Father John Misty returns with Chloë And The Next 20th Century, his fifth album and first new material since the release of God's Favorite Customer in 2018.

Chloë And The Next 20th Century was written and recorded August through December 2020 and features arrangements by Drew Erickson. The album sees Father John Misty - aka Josh Tillman - and producer/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Wilson resume their longtime collaboration, with Dave Cerminara returning as engineer and mixer. Basic tracks were recorded at Wilson's Five Star Studios with strings, brass and woodwinds recorded at United Recordings in a session featuring Dan Higgins and Wayne Bergeron, among others.

Chloë And The Next 20th Century features the singles "Funny Girl", "Q4", "Goodbye Mr. Blue" and "Kiss Me (I Loved You)".

With earlier output, Misty (aka Josh Tillman) put his bile-dripping storytelling and darkly comical character sketches at the forefront of his songs, using instrumentation as an accessory for his scathing commentary and depraved character sketches. This took the form of epic, sometimes overblown production on 2017's Pure Comedy and stripped-down, vocals-forward rock on 2018's God's Favorite Customer. Chloë and the Next 20th Century, however, is a softer, more thoughtful reading on FJM's sound, toning down his often ugly observations by letting gorgeous orchestral arrangements and gently beautiful songwriting occupy equal space with his persona... While the arrangements on 2015's I Love You, Honeybear could be similarly grand at times, Father John Misty has never turned in anything as ambitious as the impeccable sonic tailoring of Chloë and the Next 20th Century. Fans who fell in love with Tillman's sharp social commentary will find plenty to hone in on, but the lush sounds take some of the bite out of his clever barbs and cynical perspectives on love and connection. Even with the strong, considered design of his previous albums, Father John Misty has never sounded so pleasant.

...[W]hat's so impressive is the subtlety of [Misty's] control. The band...play with silvery poise and high drama. The characters may be odious and dissolute, but the way Misty sings about them is delightful...