“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who survive, but the ones most responsive to change.” It’s a misquote often attributed to Charles Darwin, and it’s an idea to which Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker seems acutely attuned on the project’s third LP Currents.
Psych rock has been the tag attributed to the band up to now, but would you expect such an accomplished band as Tame Impala to trundle out the same smack as before? “They say people never change, but that’s bullshit,” Parker sings defiantly on Yes I’m Changing, as guitars make way for more electronic (read: dance and pop) elements than on any Tame Impala release thus far. There are a few notable exceptions, such as the record’s emotional tipping point Eventually and the goofy disco-funk number The Less I Know the Better.
Parker’s love of ’90s Michael Jackson shows in Love/Paranoia, while Gossip recalls Moon Safari-era Air and Past Life gets deep into dream-pop territory. There’s no big rock number in the vein of Desire Be, Desire Go or Elephant, but the addition of one doesn’t feel like it would be a good idea. In fact, this is the most coherent Tame Impala release yet.
These are the times, people: some of the best Australian music is being made right here, right now. Well, in Fremantle, to be precise. Currents is the sound of Parker dropping his guard and embracing everything he loves about great pop music.
BY PAUL MCBRIDE
