Kevin Parker, also known as Tame Impala, is an Australian multi-instrumental psych/synth pop artist who gained huge popularity with the release of his third album, “Currents,” which focused on adding more synth in his work. After this album, Parker started a trend of making an album every five years. “The Slow Rush,” came out in 2020 to mixed reviews. His newest album was first teased with the single, “End of Summer.”
“End of Summer” and the album in general are quite different from anything Tame has made, with the song having a more house-like vibe. His tone shift was probably inspired by last year’s collaboration with French House duo Justice the previous year. As for this song, I have to agree with the general opinion and say that it’s good but not mind-blowing. I do like how the beat is kind of mellow while having these synth notes adding to the atmosphere to give a nice laid-back feel. It’s definitely a song you can relax to. My main problem with it is the length. Now, my own favorite music can get very lengthy, but that’s because time is used wisely. There were points to end the song perfectly, but they either repeat a part for no real reason or they add something. While interesting, the new parts added to the length and I got bored listening. All in all, not a bad track, but it could be shortened.
His second single, “Loser,” is more of the Tame that we know, as it brings back the psychedelia that he is known for. The only problem – it’s not that great. While the instrumentals have good moments, the mixing can get too loud or too distorted, and it can be hard to understand what is going on. The random loud cymbals don’t help either. There are also points where the vocals peak over the instruments, which only adds to the confusion.
“Dracula” was his last single before the release of the album and is, by far, the best of the singles. This song leans more into a dance-pop vibe than the other singles. It feels breezy and more upbeat than the last tracks. It starts with this harmonizing of Tame that kind of sounds like you are heading to ancient Egypt before snapping you into the beat, punchy and very disco-ish. Kind of like something you might find on “Random Access Memories” by Daft Punk. It’s very nice to listen to.
But, for a moment, I would like to move away from the music and to the songwriting. This is one of the main problems I have with this album, and it’s that all the songs are the same when it comes to theme. Now, I can enjoy a love song here and there, but when it’s that whole album, that’s kind of the same thing. It’s either a love song or a song about how he’s bad at dating. And the lyrics aren’t even that clever. In this song, there is the line, “In the end, I hope it’s you and me/ In the darkness, I would never leave,” which you think could be something related to Dracula, but no, it’s Tame giving his love to this person. This same idea is in all of his tracks; it’s just dumb, and he doesn’t evolve throughout the album, and it’s even weirder since he is married and has a child. Otherwise, not a bad song as we take a look at one more song from the album.
For most albums, the intro track is one of the best parts of an album, as it sets you in the mood and vibe of what you will hear for about an hour. This track must be good. The intro track, “My Old Ways,” is a bad intro to the album. It starts with an analog piano melody before dropping into a drum machine. The beat is ok, but the song doesn’t change much after this point, and we just fall back into that loop of the same beat and the same melody, repeating over and over again. This time, the song is about drugs, but the only thing is that it’s the most boring thing I have ever heard. The line that starts the song: “So, here I am once again, feel no good/I must be out of excuses, I knew I would” feels like a multi-million dollar artist would write, and more something I would write during the poetry unit in fifth grade. All in all, I do have to say that it does succeed in the goal of informing the content of this album, but fails in showing its value.
While there is a good amount of good songs and sounds, this album not only doesn’t live up to the hype, but it is a very basic album that makes me scared for the future of his creative output. I feel this album gets a 5.5 out of 10.
