It seems drummer Joshua Tillman quit his gig with Fleet Foxes, took

Published 7:00 am Thursday, July 26, 2012

It seems drummer Joshua Tillman quit his gig with Fleet Foxes, took a bunch of amazing drugs, and created a brilliant, Sub Pop–released record all by himself. Performing as Father John Misty, Tillman sings about depraved days in Hollywood, wild nights in teepees, and dose-happy Canadian shamans to a jangly, countrified soundtrack that sounds like some twisted amalgam of post-Sgt. Pepper’s Beatles, Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, and Merle Haggard’s entire discography. “We could do ayahuasca,” he croons, “baby, if I wasn’t holding all these drinks.” The hallucinogenic aesthetic is completed with some seriously trippy cover art and a novella of incomprehensible liner notes. Somebody please tell him to slip some of whatever he’s taking into Robin Pecknold’s drink before Tillman’s old band starts recording again. KEEGAN HAMILTON fatherjohnmisty.com