here is my review if anyone is interested!
Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker has never been someone to do things by halves. On ‘Lonerism’their expansive follow up to 2010’s ‘Innerspeaker’, Tame Impala take listeners on a sonic journey into the past and skyrocket to the future.
Opener ‘Gotta Be Above It’ begins with a simple chant that evolves into a ramshackle groove, using Parker’s vocals as a percussion instrument to guide the rest of the track. ‘Enders Toi’ follows and is obviously influenced by Parker’s time spent overseas (reflected also in new live drummer Julien Barbagallo) and flows more like an electronic track than the classic rock label that is often unfairly thrown upon Tame Impala’s unique sound. The songs don’t fall into the pitfalls of the verse-chorus-verse pattern too commonly utilised in modern music. The post-modern tracks ebb and flow with beautiful modulated synthesizers dripping through every part of the album.
Singles ‘Apocalypse Dreams’ and ‘Elephants’ are the most accessible of the tracks and this is not a bad thing. The commercial hooks of these tracks will only help Tame Impala in their efforts of breaking into a world market, something that will be all too easy for a band with the hype that surrounds them. However, it is not in the singles that the real value of the album lies in, the complex layers of sound in songs such as ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ and ‘Music To Walk Home By’ allow an intricate sounds cape for listeners to devour over many listens.
This is an album best listened to alone and is worth devoting your full attention to. Buy the physical release and get lost in the beautiful photos and lyrics, let yourself go for 54 minutes and allow tame impala to take you on a journey
