Tame Impala - Lonerism

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Why? Serious question; I just listened to Currents and Lonerism back to back, I'm genuinely trying to understand the appeal.

Of those albums, the only tracks I enjoy at all are 'Let It Happen', 'Keep On Lying', 'Elephant' and 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards'. Obviously those latter two were hits too.

The rest just seems so... Superficial. Kevin Parker is a characterless vocalist, and the songs just seem to meander without a great amount of purpose or verve.

I know that this is just my opinion, and not a popular one, it's just that my disconnect from this artist seems so illogical to me. I'm from Fremantle, my sister used to be KP's neighbour (she adores them), I like music in a similar vein to what they produce... But when I listen to Tame Impala, I'm just bored.


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It's largely the craft. I adore the sound and feel of their records and the songs get stuck in my head like crazy. Parker has some very personal lyrics and I like that he puts himself out there, albeit with some reverb in the way.

There's always something about each of their songs that grabs me and won't let me go and because Parker is skilled at numerous instruments, you never know what it's going to be. The Less I Know the Better has tremendous bass, Mind Mischief has a searing guitar line, Feels Like We're Only Going Backwards has killer drums, it really just depends.

Every one of their records offers something a little different conceptually and had its own unique bent. Innerspeaker is for the guitar lovers, Lonerism is for those that really eat up neo-psychedelia for its aesthetics and feel, and Currents is simply a damn fine pop album. Despite being driven by just one guy, there is an impressive range to their music both instrumentally and emotionally. I would never refer to their music as superficial, not after reading the lyrics and not with hooks like those.

There are a whole lot of reasons to love Tame Impala.
 
I hear what you and Cobbler are saying - I guess I do not appreciate the craft aspect. I respect that he is an auteur, but it is redundant to me if I can't connect with the sound.

What draws me to music is often intangible - a band like The War on Drugs For example, create soundscapes I can get lost in without focusing on vocals, thanks to the groove of the songs. I feel like this is what I want to feel from Tame Impala, but simply don't.

I'd avoid disparaging Kevin Parker, I cannot argue with Tame Impala's popularity and critical success. I fear it will pass me by though, despite my best efforts (and music shouldn't be an effort, but that's what listening to Tame Impala feels like).


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I can see where you are coming from with War on Drugs. Lost in the Dream is for me, an especially compelling soundscape which I just cannot tear myself away from listening to. I get pretty lost in Lonerism and Innerspeaker, but I'm not necessarily constantly sitting up and taking notice as I am with Lost in the Dream. With Tame Impala's first two albums, there tend to be instances where a couple of songs may pass by without me really engaging with them.

But I find a more compelling Tame Impala in Currents, in the sense that it pleasantly distracts me from whatever else is happening and commands a high level of attention.


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Lost in the Dream is, collectively, on par with anything Tame Impala has released. That's a wonderful album.

Their earlier work is a step lower in terms of songwriting consistency though. The debut in particular has a number of songs that go in one ear and out the other, but I do love their sound even when the songs aren't very engaging.
 
It is good to meet a fellow member of the Church of Disliking Tame Impala - may I ask what has formed this position?

Everything about them, I should enjoy. But I don't. They bore me to tears.


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Sorry, missed this post till now. Well it's subjective, of course everything in this world is subjective (up to a point), but personally I find his musical style redundant (so much of it seems to be riffing off Lennon & McCartney's pscyhadelic phase, those fucking drums, complete with Parker himself having a similar vocal timbre; ok, unfair, even superficial, but that's my react).

I find his lyrics trite and insipid, and I suppose I shouldn't care, but I do, because he cares. He wrote that stuff for a reason, and he talks about it in interviews.

I also happen to love the War on Drugs' last album, although, I by no means exempt it from criticism on the lyrical side. The lyrics are a little more substantial. The War On Drugs guy (on record, ok, before someone jumps down my throat) is a totally anonymous vocalist - a little bit Dylan, a little bit designer-stubble Springsteen, a little bit of everything and nothing - with next to no charisma... but on that last album at least, the music talked. The music was channelling something major. Kevin Parker may be trying to do something similar, but all I feel with him is vague irritation.

Riffing off an earlier post above, it's no wonder I dislike Tame Impala, as I don't care about craft. Or, ok; I care that an artist cares about their craft, but I think in terms of rock and roll, not boutique markets, and that shit should feel like lightning in a bottle. Even when it represents nothing but a long and painful slog on the artist's part, in their room, in their studio... I want the feels. And more to the point, I want the urgency.
 
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Seeing's how we're on a U2 forum, I'm hardly surprised that fans of a band that thrives on heart-on-sleeve emotion would find Tame Impala too blank and diffident. But that's who they are and I find the sonic world building that Parker crafts on his recordings give me an opportunity to feel a sense of childlike wonder as I listen, at least on Lonerism. The "chorus" of Apocalypse Dreams gives me quite the heart-in-throat feeling; it sweeps me away. Lately, he's simply taken to writing fantastic melodies, leaving the neo-psychedelic aesthetic feeling somewhat vestigial, but still, every instrument is tweaked for maximum impact. He's a hell of a producer.

Perhaps the closest the band has come to urgency is on Innerspeaker, which has a number of tracks (Lucidity for one, I Don't Really Mind for another) that are absolutely electric. But that element of the band's music has become less important to me as Parker has proven his worth as an author of melodies.
 
Take Mind Mischief, for example. The final minute is pure fucking bliss. The way the music slides from one channel to the other, with synths, gentle drum work, guitar lines, his vocal... it's fucking beautiful and it's not even my favourite song on the record.

I listened to this song, after reading this comment. I hear things so differently - irritating, repetitive drum line, an equally repetitive and uninspired vocal melody, and then the treble-y synth at the end that you describe, which goes back and forth between channels, just feels like a distraction, an unnecessary layer. There isn't anything in there that makes me feel anything.

This whole thing is definitely bothering me more than it needs to. Tame Impala just exists in this very strange space for me.
 
I liked Lost in the Dream but I don't feel very strongly about it aside from Under the Pressure.

I listened to this song, after reading this comment. I hear things so differently - irritating, repetitive drum line, an equally repetitive and uninspired vocal melody, and then the treble-y synth at the end that you describe, which goes back and forth between channels, just feels like a distraction, an unnecessary layer. There isn't anything in there that makes me feel anything.

This whole thing is definitely bothering me more than it needs to. Tame Impala just exists in this very strange space for me.

Well there you go, music is subjective. One man's trash etc. That's the beautiful thing about it.
 
I also happen to love the War on Drugs' last album, although, I by no means exempt it from criticism on the lyrical side. The lyrics are a little more substantial. The War On Drugs guy (on record, ok, before someone jumps down my throat) is a totally anonymous vocalist - a little bit Dylan, a little bit designer-stubble Springsteen, a little bit of everything and nothing - with next to no charisma... but on that last album at least, the music talked. The music was channelling something major. Kevin Parker may be trying to do something similar, but all I feel with him is vague irritation.
He really is an anonymous vocalist. It's funny, I was playing a couple songs from Lost in the Dream in my buddy's car and he was getting into it and he just said after like ten minutes, "I really wanna see Tom Petty in concert." And I was confused until I realized he thought I was playing Tom Petty songs.
 
He really is an anonymous vocalist. It's funny, I was playing a couple songs from Lost in the Dream in my buddy's car and he was getting into it and he just said after like ten minutes, "I really wanna see Tom Petty in concert." And I was confused until I realized he thought I was playing Tom Petty songs.

Unrelated but that reminds me of a true story. On a bus trip when we were in high school, we had Rattle and Hum playing at high volume. At one point - during Angel of Harlem - our teacher asked if it was Dylan.

I'm really looking forward to whatever Tom Petty/Bruce Hornsby/Bruce Sprinsteen/Son of Dylan/Granduciel does next.
 
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