I counted down the days. Tame Impala is a band that I have enjoyed listening to since I was in middle school. Their psychedelic sound and thoughtful lyrics have always been traits that have drawn me to their music. However, I really didn’t know that much about the band or Kevin Parker until recently. In anticipation for Deadbeat, I revisited their old albums and found some songs that I previously looked over, “List of People (To Try And Forget About)” and “Remember Me” to name a few. After constantly checking Spotify, the day finally came when their first album after five years was released on October 17.
Noun
- Informal., a person who deliberately avoids paying debts or neglects responsibilities
- Informal., a loafer; sponger
Deadbeat is the first album Tame Impala has released in five years and the first since Parker became a father. Tame Impala is best described as a solo music project created by Australian musician, Kevin Parker. In an interview with GQ he reflects that as a teenager, “the only friend he had might be the music he made himself.” Years later, his friend has made him a celebrated musician. Leading him to headline events including Coachella, participate in other musical groups, and becoming a collaborator with many artists, recently co-writing and producing Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism.
Sitting down for an interview with Zane Lowe, Parker explains that, “I’m a human in the world today, so whatever I feel like expressing is going to be a product of whatever is going on. The general psyche of whatever is going on I don’t try to put it into words, but you know I let it come through in the way that it does. Calling an album deadbeat, like I’ve thought that maybe that’s a result of masculinity today. I don’t want to analyze it, I don’t feel like it’s my job to analyze it, but I hope someone does.”
I didn’t know what to expect as I clicked on the album — a close up photograph of him and his daughter Peach. If you look closely at the date of when this album was released and when this article was published, there is a serious gap. It’s a brilliant body of work, but it took me a minute to break down my expectations and the music. Tame Impala still holds onto his self-deprecating lyrics and psychedelic sound, but Tame Impala has opened a new door with their album.
I was honestly taken aback when I heard the beginning of the title track. The album was not really what I anticipated it would be — and that’s not a bad thing. The release of singles, “Dracula,” “End of Summer,” and “Loser” made me think that the album was going to be heavily electronic — and I was not anticipating the raw instrumental moments. However the introduction of “My Old Ways” is completely different.
The beginning of the song is just piano chords and Parker singing. It’s raw and personal, and it feels like you’re sitting in the room with him while he’s trying to figure out how the song should unfold. When he pauses it seems that he is writing something, but instead we get a beat drop. The pausing and piano continues throughout the electronic portion of the song, and despite sounding more polished, it seems that he’s still trying to construct the song.
There’s no song called deadbeat, but it’s rather a theme that remains embedded throughout the album. “I tell myself I’m only human/ I know I, I said never again/ Temptation, feels like it never ends/I’m sliding, powerless as I descend/ Back into my old ways again.” It’s a song about no matter how hard he tries, he can’t break his bad habits — even if it’s a negative pattern.
Much of his album feels like a confessional. The lyrics on “No Reply” are him reasoning through why he didn’t respond to someone. The tone of the song is that he knows that there are things he should be doing rather than whatever he chooses to do, but again, he can’t stop.
There’s a much more coherent piano interlude at the end of the song. The pauses still exist, and in a way almost sandwiches “My Old Ways” with “No Reply.” You can hear the muffling of a microphone as if it’s being adjusted, further creating this raw nature to the album that puts the listener in the studio with him.
Parker considers one of Lowe’s statements and reflects, “Ownership is a good word. There are some people who have spoken to me and gone, ‘I don’t know why you called your album that man like why are you being so down on yourself. Like why are you being so self degrading?’ But I just don’t see it like that. For me it’s a celebration, you know of the feeling of being like a loser or you know.”
Kevin Parker at A Music Event via Pinterest
I immediately liked “Dracula” and every time it comes on, I have to pause whatever it is I’m doing to listen to it. This song for me feels like the videos of people dancing in the street randomly where you have no idea what they’re listening to. I just want to dance to it and in many ways it is similar to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” There’s this disorienting nature to the lyrics. The sun is coming up but in many parts of the song it still seems as though he’s describing night. Playing to the trope of vampires, he’s telling the subject: “Run from the sun like Dracula (hey)”. The instrumentals in the background are so cinematic and the chiming that occurs throughout the song is so lovely.
“Loser” is one of the most relatable songs off the record. One thing I love about Parker’s choices on this album is that the lyrics are kept general. He doesn’t allude to a specific instance or one that only a few could relate to. He just sings about how, “I got the message, I learned my lesson/I tried to correct it, I think I wrecked it/ Man, it’s a crisis, I’m never like this/ That’s how my life is, you couldn’t write this (ah).” There are various situations where I’ve walked away thinking about all of these things. The beat on this track is absolutely fantastic – the instrumental riffs and drums are awesome. This album — in my opinion — is successful because many people can relate to these feelings and also because Parker is used to this theme.
In his interview with Lowe Parker explains, “I’ve always had a sick satisfaction from being hard on myself in my lyrics. I guess that’s no secret really, but for me it’s freeing. To make beautiful music and then put a sticker on it that says you know, “piece of shit” to me it gives all of that meaning. It gives all of those feelings that have followed me around my whole life, it gives them purpose and sort of flips them around.”
I love the ending of this song. The breathing and his adlibs. The way that you think the song is going to end and then doesn’t feel so rock and roll.
I love that if you chose to listen in order or out, this album works either way. “Oblivion” though reminds me of what Billie Elish does on her HIT ME HARD AND SOFT album. “Oblivion” is similar to her album where it extends and uses the instruments of previous songs within ones that appear later in the album. In this case, it sounds as though it’s an extension of “Loser.” It was a unique choice that this is the song where he grapples with the concept of wanting to stay with someone forever. It feels as though that could be covered on “Dracula”, however using oblivion, it creates a sense of space rather than time in my eyes. This vibe is similar to his older music, pairing distorted, hypnotizing vocals with electronic sound. The song is about choice, but he’s also choosing something he knows he can’t have.
Many of the songs, including “Not My World” are stand outs to me. He’s looking out a window and talks about the distance, which is something he also brings up on “Dracula.” Parker achieves an extraterrestrial vibe because there’s trilling and other space-like sounds. He utilizes long instrumental breaks where it really forces you to listen to the instrumentals. The distorted voice is a smart choice because it really connects the song’s theme of not belonging to the musical elements. It is amazing to me how someone so famous can feel as though they don’t belong. Parker does a really beautiful job throughout the album describing his feelings and conditions — ones that many other people experience.
This song feels like looking at a strip of sunlight that’s peeking through curtains and falling onto a bed. It’s a simple song about finding heaven in a place that isn’t even yours. Even though it’s not your own, the space brings such a comfort that it’s beautiful even when it’s falling down. There is a subtle beat drop midway in the song and this humming sound that just makes me want to dance. There is a recording of a woman’s voice and it pauses some of the instrumentals in a way that makes the song seem more intimate. “ Now there is a whole world/ Going on out there/ Whatever I’m missing out on/ In here, I don’t care.” Towards the end, it completely cuts out and the piano returns. There’s a call and response that is similar to other songs, but it’s one of the most intimate on the album.
There is no adjective that better describes “Obsolete” than groovy. I love this song because he still carries through his self deprecating tone, but he does it through posing questions to someone. It seems very conversational — albeit one sided. Obsolete is an interesting word to choose. It makes sense in an electronic context, his futuristic music juxtaposed with his obsolete love. “Just tell me what is up, tell me what is up/ I’ve almost had enough, you’re playing with my love/ Just tell me what is up, yes, really, what the fuck?” He just wants answers and he’s not getting them. The talking in the background is a detail that I love across artists and songs. The bell tolling is probably my favorite effect he includes on the record. It deepens the theme of time and it stands in contrast to the electronics as a classic sound. The ending has these rhythmic waves where you think that a crash might be the end, but it is just setting up the next instrumental part.
“Ethereal Connection” is such a complex song. The 7-minute song is filled with layering instrumentals and what seems to be a laser circling a room. The layering effect happens as different sounds are introduced throughout the song. They don’t fade, but individual ones tend to become more pronounced at certain times. He doesn’t begin singing until 3-minutes in and it almost inverts the pattern from previous songs — or at least dramatizes the existing patterns. The lyrics on “Ethereal Connection” are sandwiched between two prolonged periods of instrumentals. It’s a really interesting choice and it’s cool that he includes this song in the center of the album.
“See You On Monday (You’re Lost)”
I’m not versed in technology that’s utilized for Parker’s genre of music. However, the sonic pattern on “See You On Monday (You’re Lost)” feels similar to the piano chords on “My Old Ways”. Thematically, it’s also similar to “My Old Ways” in that he keeps deviating and is lost — “you’re lost” is him speaking to himself. “And it happens at every turn I’m at/ Something’s beckoning me and I turn back (I turn back).” Additionally, it’s still very much Parker’s voice, but for some reason it reminds me of Bon Iver’s voice, notably when he hits his falsetto later in the song. The ending is stripped of most musical accompaniment, and his isolated vocals are so beautiful.
My favorite aspect of this album is the fact that every song is unique, but there is a similar vibe carried throughout. In his interview with Lowe, Parker explains that “Afterthought” almost didn’t make it onto the album. While the album was in the process of being mastered, he was still working on the song. I love this song and he stated that this is his favorite song off the album. There are effects in the background that sound video game-like, and out of all the electronics he uses across the album, these are some of my favorites. The lyrics are very sad, the entire song being about how he is an afterthought to someone. “Tell me, what do I say to turn this around?/ I beg you, don’t make me say it out loud/ No matter what I do/ I’m an afterthought to you.”
“End of Summer” is my song of the summer. A 7- minute single released in the dead of July was arguably the best introduction to the body of work — despite being the final song on the album. This is another song where he’s trying to justify why he should be in a relationship with someone. Everybody knows how I feel about you/ So you can act surprised if you need to/ And I am still your friend if you think it’s worth it/ It just means that I’ll see you when I see you.” Ugh, there’s something so gut wrenching about the emotion that Parker is able to convey within his lyrics.
Sound-wise, this feels totally different from his previous music and it was brave that he led with this. From his Lowe interview, in a well circulated clip he explains that people would know if he stopped caring about his music because it would be like his successful and previously released music. However on this song, he’s lyrically conveying that although he doesn’t seem to have an emotional stake in this relationship, he deeply cares and is emotionally tied to his choices. “I know I can seem uncaring in moments like these/ I just hope it’s enough to say my words don’t come with ease/ And I’m sure that you won’t believe, but you’ll be on my mind/ I waited till the end of summer and I ran out of time.” This is another song that fakes out its end, but once it does end, the album is over — unless you press your replay button.
Some of these songs I don’t cover extensively with details, but it’s because there are so many aspects that need to be digested audibly. This album was beyond worth the wait and Parker takes an incredibly positive step in developing Tame Impala’s discography. Parker’s such an artist who successfully blends electronics with thoughtful lyrics, while also connecting with timeless and recognizable sounds. There are times when I try to speak eloquently, but there’s no other way to describe this album other than awesome.