My brother, who's a musician, recommended this album to me saying that Father John Misty's lyrics sound like something I'd write (I've written two unpublished novels). I listened to a few tracks from this album on YouTube and decided to buy the album without much hesitation, impressed with the lyricism in the songs I'd heard. The album is written almost from an alien perspective about the human condition and deals with themes like the problems with organized religion, rapidly advancing technology, the dying process as told by a dying man and the end of the world.All the tracks are really good, but there were four in particular that stood out to me: the first two and the final two. Those tracks, in order are the title track Pure Comedy, Total Entertainment Forever, So I'm Growing Old On Magic Mountain, and In Twenty Years Or So. These four tracks, for me at least, defined the album. There's good stuff in between them, but these four tracks in particular really struck a chord with me and are by far my favorite parts about the entire album. I've been in a depression for almost nine months and am slowly starting to come out of it only now, but these tracks were extremely relatable. So what's so good about these tracks? Let's break it down.The title track Pure Comedy seems to be from an alien or god's perspective, observing the human race. While that may not entirely be accurate, that's definitely the impression I got from this song. It showcases the absurdity of being human, how we cling to religion because it makes us feel better, how politics have become a hellish nightmare even more so in recent years, how we're just sort of thrown into this life without being asked if we even want to be born and how no matter what you believe in, we're all the same in death. Really powerful stuff to open an album with.Total Entertainment Forever is once again apparently told from either a god's perspective or the perspective of an alien observing humanity's interaction with an ever rapidly advancing technology. The song concludes "When historians find us we'll be in our homes, plugged into our hubs, skin and bones, a smile frozen on every face..." Which to me seems to be a commentary on how some people are so reliant on technology that they can't imagine a world without it, particularly people born after 2000, who will never know a world without that technology. It has a catchy tune, too.So I'm Growing Old On Magic Mountain begins with the words "That was the last New Year I'll ever see," and is obviously told from the perspective of a dying person reflecting on days gone by. It's a ten minute song told mostly in instrumentals with lyrics space out between the music, but when the lyrics are there, they're really something. This one made me think a lot, I spent a lot of time listening to this track, trying to find deeper meaning but ultimately I think it speaks for itself, it's the story of a man who's at the end of his life and he's thinking about how once he dies, he'll just be gone forever.In Twenty Years Or So tells the story of two friends or possibly lovers lamenting the fact that the world might be ending within their lifetimes but how even if it does, it's okay because they have each other and they see the need to live in the now instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about an increasingly uncertain future. This is probably my favorite track on the album, and it even contains a nod to one of my favorite bands, Talking Heads. It's the perfect way to conclude a pretty sullen album dealing with some pretty heavy stuff that could really kill the mood at a party.When Father John Misty wrote this, he wasn't in a fun mood. I've read that he self-medicates by microdosing LSD to combat his major depression problem and the psychedelic nature of this album reflects that practice. It's got a little bit of a hopeful message in the way it pushes for a sort of worldwide secular humanism, but the lyrics also present this hopeful idea as being impossible due to the current state of the world, dependent on organized religion to feed them their morals from ancient texts that don't make much sense in a world that has evolved so much in so little a time. This isn't a fun album, it's extremely heavy hearted and deals with some pretty sad stuff. You don't listen to this album to boost your mood or get excited. This is an album to listen to when you're tired of living but unwilling to die.