Hey Music Mag - Issue 3 - December 2018

FEATURE ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
Bill Ryder-Jones
Yawn (Domino)
At 35-years old, Bill Ryder-Jones has already been in the music business for 22 years, having
started out as co-founder and lead guitarist for The Coral. His career as a solo artist began in
2011 with the cinematic masterpiece If… and on his fourth album Yawn, he continues to mine
a seam of deep emotional honesty.
Ryder-Jones distinguishes himself from so many of his peers with his complex melodies
and brave artistic approach. “I can never write the stock little song that isn’t personal
because I think people will feel short-changed,” he says, and so the album is soul-bearing,
and all the more exceptional for it.
The sense of world weariness in his whispery delivery
is counterbalanced by the rousing wall of sound guitars
and the stirring cello, through which the light gets in and
elevates the album.
Yawn is the sound of one of the UK’s finest musicians
honing in on where it hurts and why, recognising and
accepting the enigma of the mind, taking stock of his
journey thus far, and creating something that will resonate
with and uplift the listener. Nick Rice, Contributor
Father John Misty
God’s Favourite Customer
(Sub Pop/Bella Union)
Where does sincerity end and sardonicism
begin in the world of Father John Misty?
Critics are often perplexed by the
unapologetic playfulness of Josh Tillman’s
musical alter ego. But, in truth, it’s a moot
point. For Tillman’s playful preacher they are
one and the same thing. And nowhere is this
more apparent than on Father John’s fourth
album, God’s Favourite Customer.
Caustic confessionals and outré observations are the hallmark here. So that means
the dark humour of “pointless benders with reptilian strangers” on Please Don’t Die is
balanced by the opening “Sun is rising” on first track Hangout at the Gallows.
Musically, God’s Favourite Customer is another winning mix of the hard-fought
melancholy of ’70s singer-songwriters such as Randy
Newman and Harry Nilsson and the showbiz razzmatazz
of Elton John. In an age of bewildering uncertainty
characterised by the death throes of consensual politics,
Father John’s sonic adventures are the perfect panacea.
You don’t have to believe him or even trust him, just enjoy
the ride. Jim Butler, Contributor
38 DECEMBER 2018