Father John Misty has been known to play around with musical frameworks in the past for a variety of different reasons. Remember that time he covered a Taylor Swift song in the style of the Velvet Underground? Yeah, exactly. That’s why it should come as no surprise that he’s decided to go back to the title track from his latest full-length album Pure Comedy and give it a stylistic facelift.
Under the auspices of giving “libs and chuds…their own version to weaponize,” Misty decided to seat himself behind a stand-up piano, pull in a bit of steel-guitar, and crank the reverb all the way up for a vintage country version of “Pure Comedy.” While the voice at the center remains pure Josh Tillman, the man himself sounds like he’s pulling out his twangiest George Strait or Garth Brooks impression as he croons about, “the miracle of birth,” and “risen zombies, celestial virgins, magic tricks.”
In a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Misty was asked for his take on the current President and his appeal with the larger American electorate.. “There is something about Trump that…I mean I have to say this carefully or choose my words carefully, but Foucault said it’s better to have a King, because you can see the King coming at least and then you can defend yourself and you can unlock your defiance an authentic form of defiance.”
You can check out Father John Misty’s countrified take on “Pure Comedy” in the video above.
