Tame Impala: Currents (Universal)

 |   |  <1 min read

Tame Impala: Past Life
Tame Impala: Currents (Universal)

Kevin Parker from West Australia might just be the most tuned-in, turned-on and influence-dropping musician on the planet right now.

His vehicle Tame Impala (in which he does just about everything) has always been impressively future-retro but with this third album -- a polished gem of soulful, psychedelic rock-cum-dance music with a rare palette of musical colours and dreamscapes -- he's really soaring.

Pulling equally from prog-rock (the sonic breadth of Yes without the lyrical pretension), psych-pop Lennon (think I'm Only Sleeping, #9 Dream), finger-snap Prince funk, ambient electronica and pure old school soul, he shapes these songs into a coherent album which is utterly seductive, infused with thoughtful lyrics about our states of being and often held down by disco beats and solid but wobble-bottom bass.

He's as adept at writing catchy chart-directed pop (the white-boy dancefloor moves on The Less I Know the Better and Disciples) as he is at plundering the past (the 80s synths on 'Cause I'm a Man) and creating a 2am dancefloor in the spaceship into the great beyond (Yes, I'm Changing).

Aside from on Yes I'm Changing however he never truly reveals his hand (despit the ever-present first person singular, his vocals sound deliberately high and remote) and he's less humorous than this might have been, but they seem small criticisms.

This rewards every listening.

Interestingly Luke Steele (Sleepy Jackson and Empire of the Sun's psyche-glam) came from Perth too. Something in the water over there perhaps?

Other than Great Whites.

Share It

Your Comments

Ross McMillan - Jul 31, 2017

My 17 year old daughter introduced me to 2 songs off this album ( ' Less I know the better ', & ' New person, same old Mistakes ' ) on our recent road trip from Hamvagas to Wanaka via the awesome West Coast. I was blown away by this awesome music ( thought she was listening to Boy Bands and solo Girls ). She also had Empire of the Sun's 'We are the people', as you mention Graeme, great music from the waters of Perth.

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

King Creosote: Flick the Vs (Domino)

King Creosote: Flick the Vs (Domino)

Scottish singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote, gets away more albums and EPs than I see local buses: I think he's closing in on Bob Dylan's tally somewhere in the mid-40s -- and he... > Read more

Howe Gelb and Lonna Kelly: Further Standards (Fire)

Howe Gelb and Lonna Kelly: Further Standards (Fire)

The always interesting Howe Gelb does exactly what he wants and in recent years that has seen the man behind desert psych-rockers Giant Sand work with Spanish musicians, write albums of piano... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Ringo Starr: Elizabeth Reigns (2002)

Ringo Starr: Elizabeth Reigns (2002)

Right now Britain is gearing up for the 60th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II which will be celebrated on June 2 with appearances by the great Sirs of her time . . . no. not Churchill... > Read more

ELVIS PRESLEY, UNVEILED BY ROBERT GORDON (2002): The King inside his fragile Kingdom

ELVIS PRESLEY, UNVEILED BY ROBERT GORDON (2002): The King inside his fragile Kingdom

The young man was very much in love, but uncertain whether she loved him any more. He had been in the American army in Germany for more than a year and she was home in Memphis. So he poured his... > Read more