Slow Rush by Tame Impala

The Album

Slow Rush was long awaited by me. I hadn’t gotten over the previous Tame Impala album—Currents, and now, I simple shuffle between the two albums because it’s hard to choose a favourite. Tame Impala has evolved from raw psychedelic to refined alternative pop. What makes the music more interesting is the man and his story behind it. But let’s just dive into the music first.

Start by listening to the album opener ‘One More Year’:

Daft punk like vocoder quavering dissolves into disco percussions. With a subtle base at the back and uncompromising delay, is Kevin singing about a commitment made in haste?

“Do you remember we were standing here a year ago?

Our minds were racing and time went slow

If there was trouble in the world we didn't know

If we had a care, it didn't show

Next, jump to the middle of the album at track #6, ‘Tomorrow’s Dust’:

Bongo taps followed by delicately picked acoustic. As the synths surround you with lulling vocals, the fuzz box surprises you. Here, Kevin reminds you to return from the past.

“There's no use trying to relate

To that older soul

And no use biding your time

If the bell has tolled”

The album closes with ‘One More Hour’:

Be ready for a higher place. Close your eyes. Feel all the synth and guitar splashes emerge, at a distance from you. You won’t know when the drums kicked in. A long space in between, and you’ll see the beats approaching you from afar. Like a train’s headlamp flooding the darkness. And before you know, you’ve transcended into the outro. Calmer waters, ahead.

“Just a minute batter up before you go out there

All your voices said you wouldn't last a minute, babe

One more hour and you know your life is one to share

Just a minute baby right before we go through here”

Who is Kevin Parker?

Now after catching a glimpse into Tame Impala, you’d want to know the people behind it. Nay, the person behind it. All the songs were written, mixed and performed by a single man - Kevin Parker. He emerged among indie-psychedellic, in Perth, Australia and soon made his name in the Western music circles. A lot of are drawn between Kevin‘s vocals and that of Beatles; his nuances with the likes of Led Zepplin. Slow Rush displays a wiser, almost resolved Kevin. We find a sense of acceptance and optimism in Slow Rush. Whereas, Currents felt more like a life falling apart.

Tame Impala

Tame Impala is a progressive rock, psychedelic symphony genius. Kevin Parker takes inspiration from the likes of Bee Gees, Led Zeppelin, and Queens. Distortion, off-beat drums, compressions, and of course - falsetto. Despite having a rough-hippie psychedelic origin, Tame Impala is serving the pop audience as well. An alternative to pop, its songs are infused with coarse disco, funk, trip-hop beats. Textured synths, guitar riffs, and that high-hat, are all Tame Impala ingredients.

While they didn’t make any money, they topped the bill at Coachella 2019.

Songwriting

For you, however, lyrics would be of greater interest. If you look close enough, Slow Rush is an album about ‘Time’. You’ll notice that each song magically fits into each other. The lyrical value comes from the songwriter’s own personal experiences. Like ‘Posthumous Forgiveness’ is Kevin talking to his late father.

Tame Impala songs are about a man conflicting between the will to become better and surrendering to downward spiral of negative thoughts. Slow Rush has a different feeling from its predecessor - ‘Currents’. Slow Rush is more of a confrontation with your inner self.

Slow Rush also resembles the time we spent in quarantine and isolation. Kevin Parker worked alone, in complete isolation, at his beach house in Yallingup, Western Australia. Kevin Parker is the Van Gogh of music.