Sophomore albums are always tough. There's too much expectation and too much to lose. Usually you're left disappointed as the songs sound like the first album, just not as good. But our faithful Father John Misty has made one of my favorite albums so far this year and expanded on his lyrical and songwriting abilities to bring together a gorgeous and sarcastic album on love.

As you may have read or already know: Father John Misty, real name Josh Tillman, first struggled to make somber, depressing music under his own name, became the drummer of Fleet Foxes, left the band, created Father John Misty, made Fear Fun, got critical acclaim, got married, made I Love You, Honeybear, got even more critical acclaim.

The important part here is FJM got married and began to see some of the beauty people see in lives led and loved in part with the hands of the ones they hold. His take on love throughout this album is hilarious, candid, risque, and self-deprecating.

In our first example of hilarity, insert here: album title. Second example from "The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt:" "She says 'like literally' music is the air she breathes / and the malaprops make me want to fucking scream / I wonder if she even knows what that word means / Well it's literally not that." For the record, I looked up the definition of malaprops: the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect. "Literally" is literally never used correctly. Okay, maybe not literally.

His candidness comes through on one of my favorite tracks, "When You're Smiling and Astride Me:" "I've got nothing to hide from you / Kissing my brother in my dreams / or finding God knows in my jeans / You see me as I am / It's true / Aimless fake drifter and a horny man-child momma's boy to boot / That's how you live free / Truly see and be seen."

FJM screams in a self-critical rage in "The Ideal Husband" as the idea of marriage and fatherhood seem somewhat daunting and out of line with his past transgressions, which include, but are not limited to, getting high, not calling when grandma died, neglecting friends, doing "things" unprotected, driving home wasted, buying things to win over siblings, knowing just what people want to hear, binging on unearned attention, and discussing putting a baby in the oven. Father John Misty? More like Father of the Year!

FJM's overall eloquence on the album is impressive and after reading every one of his answers in a great story by Sean Fennessey, he speaks this well in regular conversation too! He would be an incredible actor, and I think his stage presence and dance moves are evidence alone. But lyrics aren't the only substance on this album, the songs are varied and buoyed by his conversational voice that also has the depth and range of a leading role on Broadway. It's not a voice that blows me away, but he fits it so well into the music and the compositions. That ability, not to make something sound perfect per se but to make the voice work with the music, is actually where the real difficulty lies.

So, with that, please enjoy this album as much as I did!

Fave Tracks (starting with my fave, moving down): When You're Smiling and Astride Me, The Ideal Husband, True Affection, Chateau Lobby #4, I Love You Honeybear