There are few people who could make the Valentine’s holiday as cool as Josh Tillman from Father John Misty. His hit album, I Love You, Honeybear, an album about his marriage to his best friend, Emma, that includes that “wedding dress someone was probably murdered in,” turns 10 this year, and Tillman is taking the opportunity to re-release. He will also be starting a tour around the country at the same time.
Tillman has been going strong since then, in his career and with his marriage, releasing his sixth album as Father John Misty, Mahashmashana, at the end of 2024. The re-release of I Love You, Honeybear also includes a cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box,” which he recorded on Sirius XM at the time of the album’s original release.
That is the sort of Valentine’s Day gift that could only come from someone like Father John Misty, with a line that could easily have come from Tillman himself: “Hey, wait, I got a new complaint/Forever in debt to your priceless advice.”
Father John Misty offers a semi-ironic Valentine's gift
I Love You Honeybear, which came out on the 10th of February in 2015 (a good reason for a Valentine's Day 10-year anniversary release on February 14, 2025), was met with critical acclaim and ended up on a lot of "best of" year-end lists. It has sold 30 percent of its 74,000 units in actual vinyl sales and was originally released as a double LP in order to provide better sound quality. But this new release will be released on one vinyl record for ease of use and a better listening experience.
The Guardian, which gave the album a perfect 100 score when it came out, said about the album, “This is all hugely entertaining. There are moments when, if you’re listening closely, the constant lyrical shifts from caustic irony to plaintive declarations of love can really knock you for six, not least on the title track."
The combination of Tillman's signature culture critique and his cheeky recollection of being shot by Cupid's arrows make for a particularly stunning and relatable love story.
Father John Misty also released a greatest hits album in 2024, I Followed My Dreams and My Dreams Said To Crawl. He’s always done things on his own terms, and his crooning, sardonic music, which reads like a well-written novel, has won the hearts of many people. And now lovers everywhere can surprise their partners with an album that has been canonized as the best of indie rock in the 21st century. Ironic romantics the world round, unite!