Father John Misty Shares ‘To S.’/’To R.’ on Sub Pop Singles Club

Father John Misty has released a double A-side single as part of Sub Pop Singles Club Volume 5. The track is Josh Tillman’s first new, original studio material since his 2018 album God’s Favorite Customer.

“To S.,” a gorgeous ballad buoyed by strings, sees Tillman meditating on a loved one going through a depression. “What about life on the ground/Makes you feel so strange?/Without the blues you’re tethered to/I’m sure you’d float away,” he sings.

“To R.” draws on similar themes, as Tillman asks his friend about an encounter with the Angel of Death: “It’s not like you/To tell him to leave/But did you really have to ask him in and sing him to sleep?”

Both tracks were recorded at Fivestar Studios and Funky Monkey Soundhaus NoHo in Los Angeles, produced by Dave Cerminara and the Haxan Cloak, mixed by Cerminara and mastered by Adan Ayan.

“To S.”/”To R.” follows Father John Misty’s first live album, Off-Key in Hamburg, released in March 2020, and Anthem 3+, a collection of covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Yusuf/Cat Stevens and Link Wray released last month. Both albums were released for sale on Bandcamp for charity and raised a collective $100,000 for the Recording Academy’s MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, CARE Action and Ground Game L.A. For the month of August, proceeds from Father John Misty’s “Poem Zone” shirt on his website will go toward his touring crew.