IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, JOSH Tillman, the singer-songwriter who performs as Father John Misty, has cryptically linked himself to the disappearance of a valuable crystal from a wellness store in Los Angeles, briefly feuded with singer-songwriter Ryan Adams and said he micro-doses LSD as a treatment for anxiety and depression. Around the same time, he also wrote and recorded his acclaimed third solo album, Pure Comedy, a grandiose collection of songs that were self-deprecating, weird (he sings about “bedding” Taylor Swift in a VR simulation) and, at times, beautiful. Now, just a little over a year since its release, he returns with God’s Favorite Customer, a lean 10-song album he recorded just after the release of Pure Comedy.
Tillman’s style has always been both introspective and ironic; his…