Father John Misty runs afoul of hotel policies in his new song “Mr. Tillman.” The singer released the track on Tuesday along with a brief, lighthearted music video.
Father John Misty narrates the verses of his latest song from the perspective of a flustered hotel employee trying to keep the singer in line. “Is there someone we can call/ Perhaps you shouldn’t drink alone,” he sings. But despite the narrator’s alarm, “Mr. Tillman” is unerringly smooth, full of soothing multi-part harmonies and cheerful glockenspiel.
The video for “Mr. Tillman” does not start until around the two-minute mark. It’s a low budget affair, with shots of Father John Misty imposed over photographs of hotel scenes. Everyone in the pictures seems happy and content, straight out a hotel brochure, while Father John Misty wanders around aimlessly and breaks into an amusing dance.
“Mr. Tillman” is one of the first new tracks from Father John Misty since he released Pure Comedy in 2017. He was also captured singing an impromptu song about Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey last year, and he recorded a version of the Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun” for the movie Shangri-La Suite.
