With less ’70s guitar groove, the Sgt. Pepper’s-resembling “Apocalypse Dreams” displays a different kind of pop sensibility within Tame Impala’s neo-psych palate. “This could be the day we push through,” wonders vocalist Kevin Parker, driven by a popping and straightforward beat. The “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”-esque keyboard is nicely worked into the other, newer sounding textures. The chorus takes the time to slow its pace and take a blurry look around; “Everything is changing, there’s nothing I can do,” Parker admits. Eventually, a repeating cosmic guitar line fades us out with ease.
Australian wild boys Tame Impala have been playing together since 2005, originally called the Dee Dee Dums. Vocalist/guitarist Kevin Parker creates most of music alone during recording, and then the other three step in to make it live. His seems to be a very popular formula with many recent indie rock bands, perhaps solely because of the new affordability of recording gear. The track you are listening to now is actually one of the first songs where drummer Jay Watson was involved in composing. In 2008 they released the Tame Impala EP through Modular Recordings. Kevin Parker created the album cover based on a slide from an astronomy lecture explaining the distance in size of the stars Antares, Mira, and the Sun.
Tame Impala’s debut album Innerspeaker was received with praise from critics and stoners alike. It was Rolling Stone’s “Album of the Year” and Pitchfork named it “Best New Music.” Dreamy grooves like “Solitude is Bliss” and “Lucidity” made Tame Impala a festival favorite, and they have now played every revelation gathering from Coachella to Reading. Lonerism, Tame Impala’s new album to be released this October, was recorded in France and “looks to show a more pronounced narrative,” according to Kevin Parker.