HE was once flippant, now he’s flipping angry. Or at least a little world-weary, in a sardonic kind of way.

Former Fleet Foxes member Josh Tillman consigned a decade of solo obscurity to the bin when he adopted his Misty moniker in 2012, grabbing attention with his waspish humour and seamy, scimitar-sharp observations on life, apparently succeeding by not taking things completely seriously. After all, larking around didn’t do Right Said Fred and Aqua any harm, which is more than can be said for the rest of us.

You certainly won’t see Pure Comedy being lumped in with that sort of illustrious company, however. Its title is irony itself; Tillman now sees life not as farce, but as tragedy, albeit one where you need to laugh as the other options aren’t particularly appetising. Which is why he deserves credit for making this album intriguing rather than utterly depressing, mainly because his lyrical flow, ability to illustrate an idea, and recognition that heavy themes require a light songwriting touch are all on top form.

Across these 13 tracks – two of which check in at more than ten minutes – Tillman tackles politics, mortality, religion, technology, and a truckload more besides. It could easily be self-indulgent and preachy; instead, it’s (mostly) smart and thought-provoking, as you might expect from a man who gets “Taylor Swift” and “Oculus Rift” into the same sentence one minute (in Total Entertainment Forever), and can then produce a stinger like “We’re more than willing to adjust/And now you’ve got the gall to judge us” the next (in When The God Of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell To Pay).

As the title track, Ballad Of The Dying Man and Things It Would Be Helpful To Know Before The Revolution prove, however, it’s Tillman’s musical craft that makes his abstract ideas work. While it’s too long, too hefty, and at times a bit too clever for its own good, Pure Comedy is nothing to be laughed at.