Father John Misty FEAR FUN

As J. Tillman, indie folk crooner Joshua Tillman painted sparse, often melancholic fever dreams that paired the wounded isolation of Nick Drake with the star-crossed country romanticism of Gram Parsons, a sensibility he also brought to the table as the drummer and backing vocalist for Seattle's Fleet Foxes. His latest incarnation, Father John Misty, adds Harry Nilsson and Skip Spence to the mix, skillfully imbuing the woodsy Pacific Northwest bark of the Foxes with a patina of vintage Laurel Canyon-inspired bohemia. Fear Fun opens with "Funtimes in Babylon," one of three tracks, including "Only Son of the Ladiesman" and "Everyman Needs a Companion," closely echoing the hymnlike sonic breadth of his former band. All three cater to his strong, clear voice, which sounds like a cross between Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) and Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater/Okkervil River), but it's tracks two and three that provide the album with its most transcendent moments. "Nancy from No