At the beginning of 2015, there were a few records that topped my list of highly anticipated albums for the upcoming year. Tame Impala's follow up to their 2012 masterpiece, "Lonerism" was certainly at the top of that list as the year began. And after hearing the 7 minute electronic delight that was the opening single, "Let It Happen", my excitement grew even higher. Even though I was relatively happy with the following singles, "Cause I'm a Man", and "Eventually". There was a part of me that was still thinking, where are the epic guitar riffs and psychedelic jams that made me fall in love with their first two LPs?
With that being said, this album is certainly one that will grow on you. Without a real 'radio-friendly' single, nor a single lead guitar riff, this album does not exhibit much of the old Tame Impala we all knew and loved. But after a few listens through the record, one can certainly see where Kevin Parker takes synths and bass guitar to fill this massive void. And if Parker succeeded with one thing on this record, it was certainly his masterful production. Each minute overlapping synth that seems to jump out at you near the tail end of most of the tracks provided a moment that I began to look forward to come the fourth and fifth listens to the record and are what really fill out what could have just be a basic pop album, instrumentally. And bass lines in tracks such as "The Less I Know The Better", ended up being some of my favorite moments on the record.
Lyrically and thematically, Kevin Parker does not miss a beat on "Currents". Each track feeds into the next musically and lyrically, as Parker kind of goes through a transformation of his own personality throughout the album and even takes a break to explore his own subconscious on the track "Past Life" near the middle of the record. Though Parker has always self-recorded and produced every Tame Impala record in the past, this is the first record Parker has made where he was able to fully pit his own psyche into the art behind the album. Beginning with the album artwork. We see the mere representation of Parker's mind metaphorically depicted as a marble that is shooting through a sea of straight lines or 'currents', maybe, and making a mess of everything in the process of trying to just get by or possibly create a legacy as not only an artist, but also as a human being. Looking back at the initial single, "Let It Happen", Parker begins the album with a seven minute ballad about going with the flow of life, letting all the bull shit that comes with it occur and hoping for the outcome won't end up in you having to apologize to your mother. After the moment this track ends, Parker keeps moving closer and closer to finding the answer to something, whether it being the perfect high, the meaning of life, or true greatness, he uses each track as a segue in to the next on his emotional adventure of his sort of 'pursuit (or denial) of happiness'. Along the way he changes, "Yes I'm Changing", gives up, "Eventually", gets heartbroken, "The Less I Know The Better", then seems to turn a new leaf in the second half of the album where he begins to come to terms with his mistakes in, "Cause I'm A Man, and the peaks thematically and musically in track, "Reality in Motion". During this track he seems to finally step back, take a deep breath, and come to terms with the idea that all of the soul searching and drugs he takes cannot help him to be the perfect being, but he can simply accept what he's done and keep trying to to get better. He concludes the album with track, "New Person, Same Old Mistakes" by essentially noting that although he and every human undergoes a sort of metamorphosis in life, we will always have the old parts of us dwelling inside our subconscious. We can either spend our whole lives fighting to try and be someone wish we could be, or merely accept that we are good enough.
My first and only major critique of this album is that it brought little nostalgia of the old Tame Impala records that I love dearly. I know that without its predecessors, no critic would have even taken the time to listen to "Currents", let alone give it an outstanding review. But this album is truly a culmination of what Kevin Parker has accomplished not only as an artist, but as an human, trying to survive in a chaotic world where he feels as if he does not belong at times. A feeling that most anyone can relate to at one point in their time here on Earth. Where this album lacks a true hit, it thrives in its ability to captivate the listener allow them to ride its emotions from start to finish. The musical change in this record brings a new start to Tame Impala, but it is certainly just another attempt by Parker to see if a change will work out for him. In this case, I would say it worked relatively well.
Rating: 9/10
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