Pure Comedy & Arca

Each Friday I feature new music that is catching my ear. Sometimes it is from this week; sometimes it is not, but it’s always within the last few months. This week, I am highlighting the new albums by two artists who prefer to use pseudonyms/personas: Father John Misty, the comic and tragic mask worn by Josh Tillman, and Arca, the namesake of Venezuelan producer Alejandro Ghersi.

I first discovered Josh Tillman with his second album, I Love You, Honeybear, which was one of my favorite albums of 2015. I won’t say that I immediately loved the album, but it grew on me, mainly because of songs “Bored in the USA,” “Holy Shit,” and the surprisingly endearing “I Went To The Store One Day”.  On this new one, Pure Comedy, released today from what I’m reading and hearing his cynicism is on full display. I’m listening to it now in my headphones and am maybe halfway through it. I’m enjoying it thus far.

I stumbled across Arca after he helped produce four songs on Kanye West’s Yeezus, which was one of my favorite albums of 2013, and then Arca released his solo album, Xen, in 2014. Since then, he also was producer on Björk’s 2015 album Vulnicura (yes, another favorite album) and also released one other album, Mutant, in 2015. So like Tillman, this is his third album. On this one, he introduces his own voice to what up until now has been mostly instrumental music. I haven’t listened to this one much yet, but am looking forward to listening to it more today along with Tillman’s new album.

I’ll leave you with a performance from Tillman on SNL last month:

What new music is catching your ear recently?