When I saw that Tame Impala had released his new album, Deadbeat, I was SO excited. He always has some smooth, vibe-y, release-all-your-feelings-into-the-air type of performers. It’s great to have a new album, mainly because I’ve definitely over-listened to too many of his old songs by now. I’ve already listened to the album quite a few times — I’m gonna try not to over-listen, but no promises — and I wanted to let you all in on some of my deep thoughts for each song and the album as a whole.
Oh, I really love this song. The beginning is so different and a real feeling. The piano and the unfiltered voice are so cool-sounding. Then the transition is SO good. Definitely a hit from this album. I think the lyrics, the beat, and the rhythm make this song such a vibe. A foot tapper for sure. I like the bridge of this song a lot; it’s quick and has a nice beat, and he’s saying something there for sure. He’s fallen to a temptation, of course, and he’s angry at himself for it, but he knew it was coming. “My Old Ways” feels like a very unique Tame Impala song, but it also has some of that classic feeling still there. It’s starting Deadbeat off very strong.
“No Reply”
Another strong hitter here. This song takes off from the beginning, and it is like an instant hum-along type of song. Again, it feels a bit different from Tame Impala’s usual takes, and then it kinda goes into this usual Tame Impala rhythm. Really strong vibes. He’s just saying everything he’s thinking in this song. I feel like it’s all about being sort of stuck in your own head, and then before you know it, you’ve forgotten about everyone else. Then at the very end, the staticky room sounds are so cool, and the unfiltered voice again is just ugh, so good. The piano part in the end is so pretty and beautiful-sounding; my favorite part of the song.
“Dracula”
When this song came on, it was like being transported to some weird church-y dance hall. The rhythm and the beat remind me of his song from the Barbie movie: “Journey to the Real World.” I can see this being in a Halloween party playlist for sure. It’s kinda fun, kinda funky, and weird. I could probably dance around for a bit to this song. Not sure how I would feel about the Dracula part if it wasn’t about to be Halloween. There are definitely some freaky vibes going on in this song.
“Loser”
The guitar part is cool in the beginning, but this wasn’t my favorite song on the album. It feels a bit angsty to me. His voice is also very high throughout the song, and it kind of annoys me slightly. The lyrics are a bit so-so for me; a little bit whiny for my taste. It’s very back and forth; he keeps going from owning his character to acting desperate. I think his sighing at the end is kind of funny.
“Oblivion”
Why do I feel like this song belongs in the background music of Rio? I can see all the pretty colored birds flying around to this song and dancing around. I’m imagining lots of lights and a very big crowd. It feels like slow-motion movement. It’s like the background music in a movie when someone is lost in a massive rave or some kind of parade. I don’t mind it at all, but it definitely just feels like background music. It is just a bit too long to listen to in your free time, though.
I thought the lyrics in this song were really pretty and cool. Almost like poetry. Feels very observational and like if people-watching was a song. He’s looking at all these things happening and at all of the people around him. If I could say what he’s thinking in this song, it would be something like: I’m not the only person here; there are so many other people living their lives all around me. Definitely like this song; it feels like some deep realization.
This song felt so dreamy and smiley at first. He’s just happy to be with this person at this moment, and he doesn’t want to worry about anything else. I liked this song because it was like so held in this significant moment for him, and he’s not thinking about the outside world or whatever troubles he may have wherever else. I also love the girl talking in the song, and she says she “felt that, like, euphoric, like it felt like confetti or something,” which contributes to the dreamy vibes. OH, but then it turns, and it’s like the dream has ended. The song fully stops and turns into something else. It’s really sad, and it’s like he came to some horrible realization that his dream is never going to happen. Honestly, I really like this song because it just felt really relatable. We all have those dreams that would bring us so much joy and happiness, but we kind of know deep down that they aren’t going to happen, or we are suddenly burdened with that awful awareness that they aren’t reality.
“Obsolete”
Okay, straight out of the gate, he’s speaking his truth; well, he’s probably speaking a lot of our truths. I really like the line “promises get old, they get hard to keep.” It’s very much saying relationships get hard, and it is what it is. He’s like “Stop fucking around and it to me straight.” He can’t figure out what she’s trying to get at, and he is getting kind of sick of it. Honestly, relatable again. It’s kind of funny at the end, though, because they have this talking scene, and it starts feeling a bit scandalous, which kinda made me giggle.
I had just started playing this song when my roommate walked in, and she was like, “holy rave,” which I thought was the perfect summary of “Ethereal Connection.” Kinda boring at first, just sort of intense beats for a while like background music. When he starts singing, it does feel very smooth and like on a high type vibes. Listening to this on headphones kinda made my head feel loopy, to be honest, and it was really long too; it just kept going forever and ever, inescapable.
“See You on Monday (You’re Lost)”
I like this song. It’s just a nice feeling. It’s like even when you’re not trying, you accidentally find yourself in love again. I love the “you’re lost” part; it’s such a vibe, and it sounds SO good. The song is like you can’t figure out what you’re doing, and you’re just stumbling through life with one person, then another. It’s like you have no idea how you got where you are, but you’re there now, so just go with it. A really fulfilling song, and it feels complete at the end. It ends by accepting that you’re probably just gonna be lost forever.
This song was quick to point. He doesn’t want to say anything, but she wants him to. He feels like she doesn’t really think about him in a real way. He wants a deeper connection, but he can’t figure out what she wants. He’s confused and needs some direction, but she’s not giving him anything. I like the main “afterthought” line a lot; it’s clever. The song is very hummable, I was just thinking I could hum to this song for a while and not even notice.
This was definitely a great song to end the album on. I liked the entirety of the music and its vibes. I really enjoyed the lyrics; you can tell he’s really trying to say something here. He’s reaching and grasping in this song. It was about a fling, but he cared a lot about it. I loved the bridge; he’s trying to say he feels like he’s going through all these feelings alone. I think the beats hit really hard, and they felt very purposeful and strong in the break. He also wants to say that you shouldn’t feel bad about the way you feel about your relationship, and there’s nothing wrong with how you feel. He also just wants to be with her; he wants her back. A lot is going on here, but I really liked it all.
Overall, I thought there was a really chill and cool tone to Tame Impala’s Deadbeat album. It was very push and pull, and it had its own vibes. I always feel like Tame Impala is writing some pretty relatable lyrics in his songs, and I definitely felt this way about Deadbeat. I doubt you could go through the whole album and not find a single song that you couldn’t imagine in your own life one way or another. I also think that not everything has to be literal and that his songs generally leave a good amount to interpretation, which I always like. I thought that they were all pretty unique, especially “My Old Ways,” “No Reply,” “Piece of Heaven,” and “End of Summer.” If you can’t already tell, I’d say those are my favorite songs on the album. Honestly, I think this was a pretty successful album, and I’m gonna encourage everyone to go take a listen, add some new songs to your playlists, and just take a ride with Tame Impala on this one.