I was torn on whom to choose for our welcome back to
Musictogetherness. Looking over the many artists we’ve
already selected, I must say, we’ve really spanned an incredible amount of
genres and decades throughout this process. A part of me wanted to pick a pioneering
artist or an obscure album, but there was one band that was always floating
around in my head that I thought would be a good fit. Tame Impala are in the business of making
luscious, psychedelic rock n roll, and business is good. The kings of modern psych-rock, and
Musictogetherness artists, The Flaming Lips have shown their appreciation for
the Australian trio by recently covering their songs and having them open for
them on tour.
Lead singer Kevin Parker fell in love with the music of
Cream and Jefferson Airplane as a teenager, and their influence on the music he
makes today is crystal clear. What isn’t crystal clear, though, are the hazy
vocals that he cascades over the fuzzy guitars and thumping drums that prevail
Tame Impala’s enveloping sound.
The boys from Perth only have two full length LP’s, which
will be your required listening. They
are complete thoughts, if you will, meant to be listened to front-to-back and
uninterrupted. When digested in full
they paint a magnificent picture. As a vinyl collector, it's refreshing to hear modern artists still making music geared towards turntables. Enjoy
your spacey rock journey.
Albums:
InnerSpeaker (2010)
Lonerism (2012)
NSFW!
I agree with a lot of Justin's write up. By themselves, each track is not as effective without the context of the rest of the album. On both albums, the opening track sets the tone, and the rest take you on a complete journey.
ReplyDeleteI have had a difficult time summing up the overall impression. I've had thoughts like 'it sounds like they are in the wrong decade' or compared them to the Beatles, Zombies, and Hollies. But I think Justin's description of them making music geared towards vinyl best sums it up.
Usually when I listen to music, I want to enhance my current state of emotion, which is rarely calm and tame, at least in my head. With Tame Impala, like a psychedelic drug, it takes my out of my current state and create a nice calm atmosphere. It is relaxing yet occasionally uncomfortable for me at the same time.
There are a few tracks which alter the flow and thus stand out, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Some of the long instrumental tracks are a bit too slow for my taste, such as 'Jeremy's Storm'. On the other side, there were some tracks I really liked such as 'Why Won't They Talk to Me' and 'Elephants' on 'Lonerism', and 'Desire Be Desire Go', 'Lucidity', and 'Solitude is Bliss' on 'Innerspeak'. Overall, I enjoyed 'Innerspeak' the most. I also enjoyed a few scenes from the video above. This was much different than most of my current music collection, and this is primarily why I wanted to bring back Music Togetherness. Nice pick, sir.
Sorry I'm late. I listened to this last week in the office with my officemate Louise in addition to lounging around at home, but it wasn't my first taste. Lonerism came out early in 2012, so it was one of the few bits of new music I discovered that year. I had started out really hardcore, and then of course didn't make it past mid-Feb. Anyway, I've long been a fan of "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" and "Elephant," but I was disappointed not to discover any other gems that really stood out to me. It's possible that this deserves another listen later on down the road. Overall, Tame Impala feels retro and psychedelic in a good way, but only really shine on the tracks where there's a significant bit of singing. I found the long stretches where they go completely instrumental were hard to get through during the work day. Maybe if I were high. Anyway, not my favorite, but not a bad pick either.
ReplyDeleteIt's been said many times that Tame Impala sound like they spent some time holed up with The Beatles' 'Magical Mystery Tour' and Pink Floyd's 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' and decided to make a record of their own. While the comparison holds, it's definitely not a bad thing, as these two records are probably the most underrated in each bands catalog. Kevin Parker's do really sound like John Lennon's, and a song like "Alter Ego" sounds like it was ripped right out of the Beatles' playbook.
ReplyDeleteThe current popularity of Tame Impala is kind of an anomaly within the current state of music. Psychedelic rock hasn't really had a big following since the late 90s, when bands like Olivia Tremor Control and Apples in Stereo were in their prime. Due to this, I thought at the time when 'Innerspeaker' came out that the sound was pretty refreshing, but I also remember that nothing really stood out for me to cause me to come back to it more than a couple of times. I really have to be in the right state of mind to listen to a heavy psych rock album, otherwise the songs tend to sound a bit samey after a while. I still have yet to have that "perfect listening environment" for Innerspeaker, so my opinion of it could go from "good" to "great!" pretty quickly.
'Lonerism', on the other hand, jumps right out of the speakers. There's a variation to the music that doesn't exist on 'Innerspeaker', from the sparse instrumentation of "Be Above It" to the excellent bass riff and driving piano in "Apocalypse Dreams". "Why Won't They Talk to Me" and "Elephant" are also great songs, but there's one standout that's gonna end up being an all-decade song for me. "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" is an almost perfect song. With just a short piano loop to kick things off, this song is all about the chorus, and the band obviously realizes this, as it hits for the first time just a few seconds into the song. Kevin Parker's vocals amaze here, and the bouncy bass line does a nice job of counteracting the depressing theme of the song. Overall this is a huge step forward from the band's first album, and really shows that Tame Impala could continue to do great things in the future.
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ReplyDeleteTame Impala automatically makes me feel like I am listening to John Lennon singing some new age Beatle music. If it weren't for the more modern beats and undertones of the music, I would easily believe this was a group from the 60's. I know this is very much what has already been said in previous posts, but you can't deny the blatant comparison between John Lennon and Kevin Parker's voice.
ReplyDeleteThe first three tracks on InnerSpeaker flow very well into each other and it's hard for me to discern when one track is over and another has begun. "Solitude is Bliss" is the first track that sounds like something from more modern years. "Jeremy's Storm" is a really nice instrumental track that seems to almost tell a story as you go along through it. There are some really great tracks on here like "Why won't you make up your mind", and I really like the heavy guitar sounds on "The bold aarow of time." This seems like a very solid album, and I would definitely go back to it again when I was in the mood for something psychedelic.
Lonerism starts off with "Be above it" and it kind of makes me want to laugh with the repetitive "Gotta be above it." I think the whispering part of it just makes me think of some guy walking down the street saying this over and over to himself, as to self motivate him. I like "Enders Toi" and feel like I am tripping out. The sounds are so euphoric they really kind of make you feel not of this earth. Something about this album is not much doing it for me overall. It seems a little disconnected, as with the previous album everything just seemed to flow so well from one track to the next.
Overall I was really intrigued by Tame Impala and think they are a very unique sound for this day in age. Kevin Parker could easily be John Lennon in a Beatle tribute band, or if Paul and Ringo ever decide to get the band back together. Good start for the blog!