Australian psychedelic singer Tame Impala’s new album The Slow Rush begins its exciting journey to release on Feb. 14, featuring their latest four singles “Lost In Yesterday,” “Posthumous Forgiveness,” “It Might Be Time,” and “Borderline.”
Listeners can all breathe a collective sigh of relief after this long awaited album. The last album released by the singer was Currents in 2015, nearly five years ago. Since then he’s released an EP in 2017. Tame Impala fans have been waiting on the edges of their seats only getting tastes for the new album with the four released singles to preview The Slow Rush.
Impala’s upcoming LP will consist of 12 tracks, mostly produced and written by lead singer and curator, Kevin Parker. So far the most recent four singles have shown that fans can expect Impala’s usual bass heavy psychedelic-pop tunes in The Slow Rush, much like Currents, their fourth album.
Switching back and forth between Parker’s home studio in Fremantle, Australia and Los Angeles, Tame Impala mixed The Slow Rush independently, and described the album in an interview with the New York Times as “This idea of time passing, of seeing your life flash before your eyes, being able to see clearly your life from this point onwards.”
The latest single released prior to Parker’s upcoming album is the track “Lost In Yesterday,” which gives an insight to the tone of The Slow Rush, provoking nostalgia in the listener while also being enlivening.
The use of deep drums and clanging cymbals showcase a deep conflict, with the appearance of electric whistles creating a mysterious melody that plays with the listener’s emotions. “Lost In Yesterday” is all about leaving yesterday behind in order to look forward to the future. The lyrics invoke not only nostalgia but this overwhelming sense of hope, giving listeners a reminder in the form of carpe diem with a side of disco beats.“If it calls you, embrace it.” Parker sings, “If it haunts you embrace it.”
Next on Parker’s upcoming album is the track “It Might Be Time” which can be best described as an electronic existential crisis. The song starts off with deep and entrancing piano keys, but explodes with blown out drums when the chorus hits.
Produced with wailing sirens during the hook that contrast with the fast-paced piano chords used throughout the song as the main instrumental focus, the track perfectly juxtaposes the moments of anxiety building up to the inevitable breakdown of Parker’s psyche during the chorus.
“It Might Be Time” is a complex and contemplative piece that provides insight into Parker’s jumbled mind. The song truly shows a side of Parker’s mind that faces anxiety and worry around the thought of being forgotten or one-step behind relevancy. It showcases a feeling that many songwriters or celebrities may feel from time to time.
Released after “It Might Be Time” is “Posthumous Forgiveness.” A track dedicated to Parker’s father, who passed away while Parker was just writing his first album. The two had an estranged relationship due to the divorce him and Parker’s mother had when Parker was only 12, the song has two parts, but the first is heavy with electronic rhythms and bass.
The synth-heavy track provides a tone of mysteriousness and heartache throughout part one, however as the introduction to part two begins, the lyrics turn into words of understanding. Switching from the sting of betrayal Parker felt, to the regret of not being able to spend more time with his father while he was still alive.
Part II of “Posthumous Forgiveness” features vibrating synth-produced beats that transform the melody of the song into a psychedelic-infused ballad. The fading of time with his father, the opportunities they missed to share together and Parker’s sadness of how the past turned out.
The last single Parker released that will be appearing in The Slow Rush is “Borderline,”which immediately begins with a deep beatles-inspired Hofner bass and heavy hypnotizing drums, featuring Parker’s signature synthesizer rhythms.
“Borderline” focuses on a relationship on the brink of ending, like a vase on the edge of a counter waiting to be knocked over. The tense and uncertain prose written to display the cracks already forming in the partnership, with echoes of Parker’s lyrics to emphasize the severity of the impending split, much like his parent’s own split during his childhood.
Overall, from what Parker’s singles entail, The Slow Rush shows a promising tracklist that compares to Currents. Although early fans may be upset by the fact that his recent works differ significantly from his past albums Lonerism and InnerSpeaker, Parker seems to be having fun with his own new genre of electronic psychedelic-pop to mind.