Last week, Father John Misty released “Goodbye Mr. Blue,” the bittersweet and tender new single from Chloë and the Next 20th Century, and delivered a gorgeous performance of the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Today, you can watch the official video directed by Noel Paul (“Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings”), which is an elliptical portrait of a family reunion, and was shot in and around Sofia, Bulgaria in September 2021.
 
New York Times says of “Goodbye Mr. Blue”, “Josh Tillman’s sharp lyricism often aims for the head…but here he goes straight for the heart. ‘Goodbye Mr. Blue’…is a simulacrum of the ’70s singer-songwriter sound; Harry Nilsson is an obvious touchpoint, but there are also shades of Jim Croce and even John Denver in the song’s fingerpicked guitars and chatty warmth. ‘That Turkish Angora is ’bout the only thing left of me and you,’ Tillman croons, filtering a story of a relationship’s slow, inevitable end through the death of the titular pet cat. It’s sweet, a little funny, and then ultimately devastating, as Tillman repeats an increasingly elegiac refrain, ‘Don’t the last time come too soon?” (see “The Playlist” March 11th, 2022)
 
Chloë and The Next 20th Century, which also includes the singles “Funny Girl,” “Q4,” and “Kiss Me (I Loved You),” and will be available April 8th, 2022 worldwide from Sub Pop and in Europe from Bella Union. All formats of Chloë and the Next 20th Century are available for preorder now from Sub Pop, Bella Union (UK/Europe), and select independent retailers in North America.
 
Chloë and the Next 20th Century and its singles are seeing early praise from the likes of MOJO, who in its 4-star review, said “Tillman’s writerly skills would have shone in any era… He offers a moving reminder of the beauty of life’s impermanence…As Chloë and the Next 20th Century sees Father John Misty escaping into his own parallel Hollywood reality, it’s highly entertaining to slip in alongside him.” Uncut says of the album, “Another multi-faceted triumph… Chloë and the Next 20th Century contains songs that go right to the gut with their instant melodic charm, and are deeply striking thanks to their sumptuous arrangements, exceptional playing and emotional pull (8/10).”
 
PASTE calls “Q4” “gorgeous and absurd; in other words, it’s quintessential Father John Misty.” Rolling Stone offers this of “Funny Girl”, “A lovely, languid gem that shows Tillman quietly reintroducing himself  — with a little help from an orchestral arrangement that echoes old Hollywood…in classic Misty fashion, leaves us quizzically charmed (“Song You Need To Know”).” The FADER says ‘Funny Girl’ is a “lush and romantic ballad…and shows that there’s much more to Josh Tillman… (‘20 Best Rock Songs Right Now’).”