REVIEW #1: 91/100

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Many artists release what is billed as their “most personal album to date”, however this may have never been as true as with Father John Misty’s latest release, Raven. Following on from the acclaimed releases of “Can I Please You, Lover?” and “Old Man Yells At Cloud”, Misty yet again continues to carve a name for himself as an artist unlike any other in the industry currently. Perhaps most interesting is Misty’s unpredictable nature, never knowing where he might go with his next offering. And yet, with Raven, it seems like a natural progression for him.

 

Simply put, Raven is a haunting listen although very clearly purposeful. It would be far from a stretch to crown this as one of the most engaging projects of the year, with every moment begging for every ounce of your attention. Of course, the challenge in that is providing content that is worthy of such attention, a task Father John Misty succeeds at with ease.

 

Sonically, the album as a whole is carried through by intense, unsettling piano chords and various other tools to create the gothic atmosphere Misty has crafted throughout. There are some very powerful, lush, almost orchestral moments that help invoke a sense of internal struggle, some sort of uncertainty. Although rarely feeling repetitive and causing some moments to blend together, the consistency more often than not creates a platform for Misty’s own voice to soar from. And soar it does.

 

Raven does what few albums can, pull out genuine emotions from it’s listener to connect with those of the artist, something Father John Misty does so effortlessly. It’s no secret that Raven tackles some wide and intense subjects, although it excels in it’s ability to never feel overly broad or lose itself in those ideas. Very evidently written from an intimate place, Raven feels like an insight into Misty’s own consciousness as we listen to a series of very personal, inward confessions.

 

Lyrically, the album almost reads like poetry in it’s elegance and consistency. It expertly utilises the ideas of water and drowning as a symbol of death and hopelessness, and effortlessly intertwines those ideas throughout the album in a way that doesn’t feel obvious or repetitive but rather just apparent enough to leave an impression. It’s difficult to pull specific examples of lyricism from the album as, uniquely, the whole album feels like a singular long piece that should only be consumed as an entire entity. Each lyric carries an immense emotional weight that genuinely draws out emotion from the listener. One minor point is Misty’s tendency to repeat phrases (particularly the trend of nearly every song ending with the same phrase four times!) which usually feels natural and impactful but occasionally can feel like it gets in the way of Misty delving further into his ideas. Yet still, it’s hard to complain about it when the lyrics themselves are as strong as they are!

 

Overall, Raven is an album unlike no other. It’s personal approach leaves it as an authentically Father John Misty album that would feel out of place in anyone else’s discography. The intense insight to Misty’s inner self and personal struggles is delivered effortlessly and with such impact that it’s lasting impression lingers beyond an initial listen. There truly are few words to describe the magnificence of such a project. One of the most personal releases of the year sets itself as one of the best, and an absolute highlight in Misty’s already impressive discography.

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REVIEW #2: 95/100

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In the current musical landscape, one would think that it would be difficult for an artist like Father John Misty to thrive, but thrive he has. While he may not be clocking the sales that Lorde and Lana Del Rey (two artists who supply their voices to this work) are with each release, he has grown to become the voice that rises up to meet that. For every bit of pop grandeur that seeps into the public consciousness, Misty offers something softer but no less earth shaking. 

 

His previous studio album, the stellar Can I Please You, Lover?, could be considered his commercial breakthrough of sorts, but as he continued on, he has not given in to the mainstream tendencies that many indie artists have. His EP Old Man Yells at Cloud confirmed that he was going to continue down his own path and his new album, Raven, shows us what lays the next few steps down his path. 

 

Raven is, at its core, an album about the mind and the soul and how they often work together to create private horrors that people cannot escape from. Misty has never been shy about speaking frankly about his personal life be it the struggles of his marriage or his current state of being, but even armed with this knowledge, Raven will catch you by surprise. Many have waxed poetic about “personal” albums, including many of the artists who make them. Rarely though is the work really that personal, really that revealing, and really delivered in a way that feels honest. Ever the contrarian, Misty has delivered an album that does all of those things. 

 

Lyrically, he has clearly been refining his skills. The album’s lyrics are, like it’s production, mostly sparse. He says a significant amount without using as many words as it takes many of his peers to say a whole lot less. Each line of lyricism feels very purposeful and considered, giving off the impression that if you were to remove any one word or any one line, then the song it’s attached to simply wouldn’t work. Whether he be speaking bluntly about death, legacy, suicide, or the complex nature of human emotion, every word is rung for it’s most effective worth. At times the lyrics almost feel as if they were delivered live on the spot instead of being written beforehand, lending the album a sort of conversational feeling that further draws you in to have a look around. 

 

Production wise, this is perhaps the strongest move in a new direction that Misty’s yet given us. It’s difficult to pin the sound of the album down to genre because it frequently transcends classification. It’s sparse to the point that it feels unfathomably deep. It’s so deceptively simple that it’s akin to floating on the surface of the ocean before suddenly being pulled down; in the instant you are, something that appeared shallow at first becomes all encompassing, a deep, never ending pit that swallows you whole. The sound is pitch black dark with very little light seeping through the cracks, and even when some light does it is swallowed by the return to the darkness of the record. 

 

In many artist’s hands, this would make for an exhausting listen. But in Misty’s hands, it makes for something you cannot turn away from. The music and lyrics work in tandem to create an atmosphere that’s unlike any other piece of music released this year. This album is the textbook example of how to sustain a mood across a runtime. It’s ground rules are laid right from the beginning and the course it plots is never deviated from. This lends the album a pristine cohesion that gives things heft. It’s a complete work, not a collection of songs, and it is weighed as such in how everything is tied together. 

 

The experiments on the album are not as overt as one usually expects from experimentation, but that doesn’t make them any less present. Misty frequently plays around with tempo and rhythm across the album’s runtime and it creates a certain unpredictability, with each song offering something new and unexpected. The production work incorporates elements of different genres and strips them to their barest of bones and contorts them into fitting into this album’s soundscape, and it’s this wrestling of sound that often drops your jaw. The incorporation of sound effects into a few tracks as well adds another layer to this soundscape, though it never feels like a gimmick. It’s just another essential puzzle piece. 

 

To say this album arrived under a huge wave of expectations isn’t entirely true. Misty has purposefully avoided letting hysteria and sensationalism be tied to his name, but that’s what makes this so special. Devoid of concrete expectations, Misty was afforded an empty playground to make use of all on his own. He doesn’t waste this freedom or this space, using every corner, nook, and cranny to his advantage. This album is the sound of a man both incredibly in tune with himself and his vision. It’s a singular, clear, measured move to leave behind a lasting and meaningful statement, and it’s incredibly successful in doing so. 

 

Misty is like an auteur filmmaker in that when he is given control of the whole vision, the results are almost impossible to argue with. Raven is not a follow up to Can I Please You, Lover?, as that sells this album short. It is a singular piece of work that stands on it’s own two feet, free of any shadow that isn’t the one that it itself casts. It’s a brilliant evolution for an artist who’s constantly challenging what we know about delivering impactful, personal music. If this is a sign of things to come, then Father John Misty is going to remain an artist that is as needed, essential, and pressing as the huge names we’ve all gotten to know. 

 

It is perhaps time to get to know the man behind Raven a little better, if we should be so lucky.

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Standout Tracks: ghost, roadkill, monument

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SCORE #3: 92/100

With "Raven", Father John Misty takes another dauntless step forward into revealing his most darkest truth, while boldly incorporating his perspective on his life and death. "Raven" is not trying to be anything that it is not, not some cheap leap attempt at the mainstream and not a forced attempt at a knockout punch. It's not an easy album to listen to because of the rawness in it and the album's ability to let you stay in the impending sadness and despair that keeps growing bigger and bigger all the way through. The piano-led and subtle yet effective eerie & haunting production give this album a sound in which allow the focus to also be on Misty's vocal delivery, which might be his best yet. The album's simplicity and it being relatively short is also what makes this album as striking and sharp as it is, with every lyric carrying a heavier weight and a deeper meaning to it. On "Ghost", the singer sings "But they never saw me anyway" which leaves me thinking whether he knows how much valuable he is in that very moment of truth and how many people can resonate with this sentiment and really see him, even in the lowest points, for who he is. In a way, that is also the strength of this album. In such a dark place, Father John Misty is most seen and alive. It's in these moments that the lighthouse shines the light and exposes the simple truth and it's in these moments where he is not hiding from it. "Raven" is surely a stand-out album in 2021.

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SCORE #4: 89/100

Father John Misty's Raven is by far his best record yet, taking the best parts of his debut effort and building upon them even further. With heartbreaking lyricism and a cinematic and gothic soundscape, Raven is a meditative look into the deepest pits of depression. 

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SCORE #5: 95/100

Raven is a heartbreaking and self-existential record that will make you think about your own life, and how you carry yourself. Album standouts are roadkill and lighthouse, though every song shows FJM at his best ever songwriting and production wise.