Tame Impala - The Slow Rush (14th February 2020)

Its a good album

it's definitely not bad

This is one of the most accurate things I’ve ever read about them...

 “In 2010, Tame Impala committed so hard to being a 1967 psych band that, just like most 1967 psych bands ten years down the road, they’re now a 1977 soft rock band.”

maybe... but this album would certainly rule if Donald Fagen wrote the lyrics

  On 2/16/2020 at 5:28 AM, Candiru said:

Dungen. 

Ooh hey. Nice 

He'll always have those first two albums. 

Echo the sentiments above.  I'm a fan and the production is GREAT...but there are no real standout tracks like on the previous albums.  Maybe needs more listens?  

It's a very polished.....turd. 

This slaps harder than anything on this album

  On 2/19/2020 at 1:34 AM, Candiru said:

This slaps harder than anything on this album

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Forgot how much I like that song. Keep em coming dude.

yeah i mean we would spend the next year posting tracks from the late 70s that are better than anything tame impala has ever done

First great post-chillwave album. Also has the same vibe as later era Chemical Brothers release: solid, few standout tracks, energetic and consistent throughout but not something that you'll call a classic

I'm happy to hear the singles from this on the radio, it feels that niche of "I like this band but don't love them" I used to hold back in the 90s and even 00s - Top40 hit makers who put out fucking solid pop songs but don't really excite or engage me otherwise.

Someone on reddit said this album was like getting news socks you kind of wanted for xmas. You genuinely like them, will wear them out after a long time, but there's nothing else to be said.

If there's nothing to be said about this album, then why is everyone talking about it? Kind of annoys me this gets lot's of focus but Katie Gately's album from last week, which is pretty great, is largely ignored. That seems like the kind of thing this forum should dig, but instead we're all talking about Tame Impala. 

On topic, I like this album. Good driving music. But have always been a bit perplexed at just how obsessed some people are with Tame Impala. Just don't quite understand why some things breakthrough and others don't. 

  On 2/21/2020 at 12:14 AM, Mesh Gear Fox said:

people are perfectly capable of talking about more than one album. especially here. there's no reason why you cannot seize the day and discuss Katie Gately's latest.

I already have... Just trying to drum up some enthusiasm. 

But it really is difficult for me to work out why some things get plenty of discussion and others fly under the radar. Luck? Accessibility? Exposure? Probably all of the above. 

  On 2/21/2020 at 2:27 AM, Poimandres said:

I already have... Just trying to drum up some enthusiasm. 

But it really is difficult for me to work out why some things get plenty of discussion and others fly under the radar. Luck? Accessibility? Exposure? Probably all of the above. 

Haters are hopelessly, lazily mainstream. All albums have their fans, but the haters flock in frustration to where they might be heard. Not really Tame Impala's fault, and many dig it.

  On 2/21/2020 at 6:20 AM, Roo said:

Haters are hopelessly, lazily mainstream. All albums have their fans, but the haters flock in frustration to where they might be heard. Not really Tame Impala's fault, and many dig it.

I hope you're not implying I'm a hater, sir. I'm already on record saying I like the album, especially the sumptuous production. 

  On 2/21/2020 at 8:29 AM, Poimandres said:

I hope you're not implying I'm a hater, sir. I'm already on record saying I like the album, especially the sumptuous production. 

Of course not, don't know how you could feel that was implied. I was just elaborating on your point about why some albums seem to get a lot of oxygen wastage whilst others seem to come and go without a peep.

  On 2/19/2020 at 7:26 PM, joshuatxuk said:

First great post-chillwave album.

We’ve been post chillwave for so long, though. This is competent but doesn’t catch fire.  

Kevin Parker does a lot of things really well, but these days, when everyone is making albums by themselves with little input from others, the fire just keeps getting more rare. The kind of albums that used to be made by full bands, where songwriting was nailed down very solidly before they even thought about production - this seems to be reversed now. Melody is an afterthought where it used to be the thing you’d remember about a song made for mass consumption. The production was just a sign of the times, not something to fetishize and prioritize. The song remains memorable because they were just good tunes. He knows how to write good tunes, but there are less on here than Lonerism, for sure. 

I just get the sense that there are people capable of writing a series of serious hitters that are holding themselves back intentionally or not. 

  On 2/21/2020 at 11:59 AM, Candiru said:

Kevin Parker does a lot of things really well, but these days, when everyone is making albums by themselves with little input from others, the fire just keeps getting more rare. 

I just get the sense that there are people capable of writing a series of serious hitters that are holding themselves back intentionally or not. 

First point: excellent observation, I think that's partly why it's such an impressive and endearing music project to so many.

The second point: I agree, Flying Lotus and Grimes come to mind. I think a lot of people assume you are being too picky or critically demanding as a fan for not liking their recent albums. Instead I've felt frustrated that they seem way too self-aware and/or way too influenced by their peers. I don't think Flying Lotus is getting any serious critical feedback, so instead of really crafting excellent fleshed out songs we're getting a lot of pretty noodling music. With a couple exceptions Flamagra was the bloated collection of interludes that should have been developed into full length compositions and songs that were half-baked ideas forcefully stretched out. Grimes on the other hand overthinks the hell out of her music - both Art Angels and her album that dropped today have been revised, tweaked, and re-written over years.

  On 2/21/2020 at 5:35 PM, joshuatxuk said:

First point: excellent observation, I think that's partly why it's such an impressive and endearing music project to so many. The second point: I agree, Flying Lotus and Grimes come to mind. I think a lot of people assume you are being too picky or critically demanding as a fan for not liking their recent albums. Instead I've felt frustrated that they seem way too self-aware and/or way too influenced by their peers. I don't think Flying Lotus is getting any serious critical feedback, so instead of really crafting excellent fleshed out songs we're getting a lot of pretty noodling music. With a couple exceptions Flamagra was the bloated collection of interludes that should have been developed into full length compositions and songs that were half-baked ideas forcefully stretched out. Grimes on the other hand overthinks the hell out of her music - both Art Angels and her album that dropped today have been revised, tweaked, and re-written over years.

 

I tend to agree. FlyLo & Grimes are big talents, but also big dorks presently channeling their creative energies in muddled directions which will age about as well as DeMille.

I think Slow Rush is great, like Parker finally found himself. Hopefully the other two can take some inspiration from that and latch on to something real.

  On 2/21/2020 at 10:48 AM, Roo said:

Of course not, don't know how you could feel that was implied. I was just elaborating on your point about why some albums seem to get a lot of oxygen wastage whilst others seem to come and go without a peep.

Ah sometimes hard to parse intention with message boards, think nothing of it! 

I've been revisiting the other albums as well lately. I was a big fan of Innerspeaker when it first came out, and didn't like Lonerism quite as much. I remember that getting some album of the year awards and kind of not understanding why. Currents has some great tracks, but I find it a bit patchy. My feelings about those albums hasn't changed after revisiting, so this might actually be their best album for me. It's very solid. 

Currents has a few amazing tunes (Eventually is quite a perfect pop song) , as well as some awful ones too IMO... and it’s not working for me as an album, at all.

Lonerism is much better than Currents, but as I type I realize that I barely remember of more than a couple of its songs... 

Now I still consider Innerspeaker a great album, without any filler. Haven’t listened to it in ages, and don’t think I will any time soon either... but still.

I don’t think I’ll bother listening to this new one. I bet it’s very nicely produced, but from the first extracts I don’t think it’s for me. 

The Quietus:

  Quote

It took Kevin Parker five years of reclusive writing before The Slow Rush was ready for human consumption. His group Tame Impala started off at the dawn of the 2010s as a charming psych-revival curiosity, but second and third albums Lonerism and Currents saw the group slowly mutate into something far bigger; an escapist pop act capable of headlining festivals.

Notoriously, Parker is one of these musicians that spends literal years labouring over fine details to ensure everything is the best it can be. He rigorously considers every single drum sound, piano loop, and vocal texture, and pours unimaginable quantities of energy into the signature Tame Impala sound. Parker is clearly a talented producer, and has shown in the past that his musical graft often reaps satisfying melodies. It is this perfectionism that defines 2015’s smooth-but-insubstantial Currents, and new LP The Slow Rush is certainly cut from the same cloth.

So that begs the question; if Parker is such a perfectionist, how come all of his songs are fucking terrible?

Tame Impala frustrate throughout The Slow Rush. Whilst Parker’s talents as a producer certainly flicker throughout, his limitations as a songwriter prevent any songs on the record from really catching light at any point. The Slow Rush is background music, it’s supposed to bring good vibes but it dims every room that it is played in.

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