Tame Impala
Currents
July 17 2015 (Fiction)
8/10
Words: Alison Mack
Tame Impala are a band known for their psych leanings, yet on this follow-up to 2012's 'Lonerism', Kevin Parker, veering towards dance-pop. Like any artist who inaugurates a change in musical style, there will be those who welcome the move and others who lament the passing of the old.
For this third album Parker has moved on to a textured electro-pop groove, with swirling multi-layered synth-pads and sonorous keyboards taking precedence over subtle basslines, simple drumbeats and ambient harmonies. The result makes for something that carries a rich electronic feel, where Parker's emotive delivery is much enhanced.
Heading off on the near eight minutes of 'Let It Happen', a panoply of driving drums and a colourful synth array complete with the fuzzy guitars of old. “Yes I’m older/yes I’m moving on,” Parker reflects over languid beats and a coating of synths. 'Yes I’m Changing' again harnesses a bank of synths, this time accompanied by harpsichord and traffic distortion.
Elsewhere there are highlights including ‘The Less I Know The Better’, and the incredibly powerful ‘Eventually’. 'The Moment' dances on majestic keyboard notes, while the darker underpinning of the bassline acts as a counterbalance to robust synths and drums, creating a compelling dichotomy. There are ballads too, such as the synth-driven 'Eventually', and the sinuous slow-nam grooves of 'Cause I'm A Man' - a languid wedge psych-rock, augmented by an insistent rhythm to hold the attention.
'Currents' may be cast from a different mould to 'Innerspeaker' and 'Lonerism', but still manages to retain the overall Impala ethos and impeccable timing.
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