Kevin Parker becomes more than the enigma that is Tame Impala, and brings the deepest layers of songwriting which traverse brilliantly through seasons.
Few people know how influential Tame Impala has been in terms of sound for pop music in the last decade. From funky, psychedelic beginnings, people always assumed it was a project that involved a whole band. Like Paul McCartney, Prince, Beck, Damon Albarn-name your legacy multi-instrumentalist, Kevin was able to reach those heights with his talent and pure skill that he developed through the years. If you have never seen his face, it’s for good reason. He unmasks it all with his latest album, Deadbeat.
No better vibe setter
Tame Impala has graced every “good vibe” ever in a pub, dance club, house party-you name it. The way Kevin Parker details atmospheres is quite incredible, he knows where to place each layer sonically. What you get as a result is a series of layered clouds, easy to differentiate; yet rich in their own essence. This is not what you heard in his self-titled single releases. It is a wholly different sound-a multi-instrumentalist jamming out to some incredible music, while enjoying his own company. It is spontaneous, bubbling with energy; but definitely like acid soaked rock.
The journey till now
InnerSpeaker released in 2010, his first full album. This is where you can start hearing the tame sound, more atmospheric, more about chasing a feeling. Though these tracks were longer, you could hear how Tame Impala was being chiselled into shape by the compression of coloured clouds. No sudden solos, fuzzy distortion weren’t being lent to solos. He knew what he wanted to make.
So we reached Lonerisms in 2012, where he was able to develop a distinct sound inspired by psychedelic rock-yet having the memorable simplicity of pop. He made psychedelia instantaneously accessible as radio songs. So when you started to typecast his sound as high people music (which is demonstrably amazing), he flipped the spectrum. Currents clicked globally, in 2015- and suddenly everyone knew 2015s Tame Impala after the 2 hot singles like Elephant and Feels Like I Only Go Backwards. He was able to create so much-with seemingly so little involved.
What Deadbeat is about
Which is why Deadbeat is so thrilling. He dips in and out of earlier music. He realises who he is now, and the impact he has. There is the massive pop tornado he can whip out whenever he wants, because you can immediately get to know when Tame Impala plays. He gets experimental with fillers between memorable beats and dance-y grooves; they play in odd time or accent the track in an exciting way. He becomes the medium between live instruments and electronica breeze, traversing it as he pleases.
With this album, Tame Impala has become more than Kevin’s alter ego. As it’s titled, he observes more patterns in himself, where he lends himself to music than to people. Whether it be friends or his love, the obsession has defined his life’s trajectory over the past several years. Or so it seems. He opens the album with the very self aware single My Old Ways, where the sound matches this definition between raw and polished. As always, the composition is undeniably sticky- in structure and in the kind of effect it tends to have.
A self-portrait in love & obsession
You might have heard Dracula and Loser as singles he released a few months ago. These are the party tracks- for Tame Impala knows that drowning in self conscience and heavier lyrics might not appeal to everyone. Even in these songs, it is something about his habits and methods he references, almost like a happy fever plaguing him. Loser sounds and I’m sure is a salute to Beck’s song of the same name, where a singular hook and lyrics paint a self portrait. In ankther time and another decade, Kevin Parker feels what every one-person band feels. Burdened by obsession, where all else becomes obsolete.
With a few tracks that border on experimental, Tame Impala has kept the sound that has been chased for so long. We all have access to these electronic vibe synths, atmospheres and patches. The compositions are what makes it stand out, become quintessentially what Kevin chose to become in the music sphere so long ago. He has through and in art, contained an image he is excited about. The pursuit might make it seem like be doesn’t care for the others in his life. On the contrary, this seems dedicated to them.
You’re witnessing Kevin now
Like many, I was under the impression that most of Tame Impalas appeal comes from the waves of electronica magic he can produce. While this is true in some part, he did an incredible job on the NPR Tiny Desk where he chose to go completely acoustic. That’s some guts I tell you, cause you and I as TI fans might know the roots he began from; but not most part of the world. It sounds different, vulnerable and immediately becomes Kevin Parker, not Tame Impala.
This is the musician who has been one of the most sought after producers and writers of the past 5 years. His song structuring blurs genres, that’s why you see A$AP Rocky, Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, SZA, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott have been able to jam out with him as though he speaks the same language. It’s of music, that he began his connection with, made his own and now sees people adore. To Tame Impala’s closest critics- does this sound like a deadbeat?:
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
