Released Nov. 22, “Mahashmashana” is the sixth studio album by Josh Tillman under the moniker Father John Misty. Like Tillman’s previous albums, “Mahashmashana”—an anglicization of the word for “cremation ground” in Sanskrit—manages to balance a deeply cynical tone alongside a surprising amount of emotional depth.

Let me start with what I liked. Tillman’s lyricism sparkles, as ever, with imagery; his ability to tell a story through music is unmatched. In the track “Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose,” he sings of a woman well-versed in politics, “By a small degree, she got him to admit /

They’re tacit fascists without knowing it.” His references are wide-ranging but never out-of-place; examples include the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme and Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, and, of course, there are multiple mentions of film history and most notably, Christianity, throughout the album. Tillman sings about Mary Magdalene, Goliath, baptism and Christ’s resurrection, which tie into the record’s larger themes of death, rebirth and the passing of time.

I’d also like to give particular praise to the track “Screamland.” Released as the album’s first single, it is a long, slow song that gradually crescendos to each of its three choruses, which are not quite screamed (though they come close) and ooze with passion, emotion and the most sincerity Tillman can muster. Despite the almost seven-minute song’s generally bitter tone, the sheer emotional release of the choruses feels downright sweet; they are perhaps the only truly satisfying moments on the entire album. I listened to “Screamland” on repeat throughout late September and early October, and I think it’s the clear standout. The other songs on “Mahashmashana” might be clever, but they lack feeling, and “Screamland” is spread thin trying to play catch-up.

This brings me to my main problem with “Mahashmashana.” To me, a lot of the songs sound the same—they’re either orchestral, sweeping numbers fit for a movie soundtrack or jazzier, quicker tracks that aren’t really interesting beyond having a lot of saxophone. “Mahashmashana,” “Mental Health,” “Screamland” and “Summer’s Gone” fall into this former category, whereas “She Cleans Up,” “Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose,” “Being You” and “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All” belong to the latter—and with nothing left over, you’ve split the entire album in half perfectly. I wish Tillman would have spent anywhere near as much time on instrumentals as he did lyricism; listening to “Mahashmashana” got pretty boring by the end. I agree with Pitchfork’s review that the album’s recurring image is “the orchestra playing on the deck of the sinking Titanic,” although I must admit that I was secretly glad when the last song ended and the imagined quartet slipped under the surface of the Atlantic.

All in all, “Mahashmashana” is not objectively bad—most critics gave it around an 80% rating—but I was expecting a lot more from the album after how much I loved “Screamland.” I think it is far from Tillman’s best work, and I hope his next release explores new sounds as well as topics. He’s a talented writer and musician, and I guess I’ll just have to have faith that album number seven pays tribute to both of these strengths.