November 22, 2024, marked the release date of Father John Misty’s newest album, Mahashmashana. Although its release was overshadowed slightly by Kendrick Lamar’s surprise album drop, much to Misty’s dismay, he’s been keeping himself relevant regardless. For example, he has a new music video!
Yes, after previously releasing music videos for “Screamland” and “She Cleans Up,” the album’s two other singles, Father John Misty has now corresponded Mahasmashana’s publication with a video for “Josh Tillman and The Accidental Dose.” The setup for the video is fairly simple, with it entirely centering around a live performance Father John Misty is giving of the titular song. Outside of a shot near the song’s final bridge of a man smiling in the audience, the video is solely made up of different camera angles of Father John Misty and his accompanying band as they play the song.
Where the video differentiates itself from ordinary live recordings, though, is through the lighting and the editing. The lighting is made up of pink, purple and blue hues (which could mean nothing) that radiate the stage in a sense of simultaneous warmth and melancholy that perfectly matches the song’s mournful nature. The editing in the video is impressive for a number of reasons. Firstly, an artificial grain has been put over the footage to make it appear more old and hazy, as if the music video was an old, half-remembered film from your childhood. Secondly, the footage of Father John Misty and the band begin to overlay over one another towards the end of the video, highlighting the collaborative nature of the song, as well as represent the out-of-body experience the song’s narrative illustrates. Finally, it is just truly impressive how well the different camera angles are weaved together without feeling erratic or jarring.
You can watch the video for yourself down below:
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