Currents
A masterfully polished transition from guitar rock to neon-lit synth-pop. Rubbery basslines, soaring falsettos, and lush, bittersweet electronic grooves.
July 15, 2015 · Universal Music (3)
A masterfully polished transition from guitar rock to neon-lit synth-pop. Rubbery basslines, soaring falsettos, and lush, bittersweet electronic grooves.
July 15, 2015 · Universal Music (3)
A sudden, thick wave of analog synthesizer and a rubbery bassline shattered the guitar-driven haze of the Australian psych-rock scene, marking the exact point where bedroom rock became stadium-sized dance music. By locking himself away to write, perform, and mix every single note alone, the architect behind these neon-lit grooves abandoned the safety of fuzzy distortion for the pristine clarity of pop. You can feel the weight of this isolation in the soaring falsettos and bittersweet electronic currents. It remains a towering monument of self-reliance, proving that a solitary mind could redefine the sound of a decade.
“The purest — and most complex — distillation of everything that makes the band such a nearly physical pleasure to listen to, whether it’s the sprawling riffs found on their 2010 debut, Innerspeaker, or this album’s taffy-lurid swirls”Read review
“He clearly still can’t resist endlessly layering sound upon sound, sometimes to the detriment of the music”Read review
“The most frustrating thing about Currents is that, for probably the first time, it seems like Parker is writing songs that would be pretty decent and probably interesting if he freed them from this musty aesthetic and gave them room to express themselves”
“Layers and layers of sound pile on top of one another, obscuring any message, any meaning, except for the decadent beauty of gorging yourself to the brim”Read review
“Nearly every proper song on Currents is a revelatory statement of Parker’s range and increasing expertise as a producer, arranger, songwriter, and vocalist while maintaining the essence of Tame Impala”Read review
“He’s been called a visionary for years, but this is the ultimate proof he can see for miles and miles”Read review
“An artist at the peak of his powers”Read review
“"Let It Happen" is a microcosm of the album as a whole, and, notably, guitar riffs are supplanted by finely etched beats complete with finger snaps and brassy synths”Read review
“While Parker’s home studio achievement is impressive – to recap, Prince-like levels of auteur autonomy – the sonic unity here means the tracks bleed into one another”Read review
“While Currents would have made a decent Kevin Parker solo album, people coming to the album and expecting to hear the Tame Impala they are used to will most likely end up quite disappointed”Read review
“Parker is perhaps the most prominent member of a class of young musicians that is creating some of today’s most spectacularly catchy music by being backward-looking and forward-thinking at the same time”Read review
“It’s just a shame that the undeniable majesty of opener Let It Happen sees the album peak at a high it can never hope to reach for the remainder of its existence”Read review
How does Currents sound next to the rest of Tame Impala's catalogue?
The songwriting plunges headlong into a bittersweet emotional current, pairing the stinging ache of a sudden breakup with infectious, danceable grooves that refuse to wallow.
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