Australian rock band Tame Impala released its latest album, “Currents,” on Friday via Interscope Records.
Veering from the band’s usual acid-wash delivery, the record sounds like a sugary cross between Daft Punk and Prince.
Existing as a solo act on record but a five-man band on stage, Tame Impala has made a name for itself as a calculated mess of psychedelic proportions.
The band — the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker — first began in Australia as a recording project back in 2008. But since then, Parker released two albums and made the leap from local stages to festival circuits.
The album’s leading song, “Let It Happen,” launches bold electronics into soul-dripped falsettos but brings them back to earth with a set of drums. Parker’s voice, eerily similar to that of a young John Lennon if he were sent to space, breaks through the threshold. Halfway through, the record scratches.
“The Moment” sounds like ‘80s-montage music. A neon keyboard and jubilant handclaps hum as the vocals gravitate toward euphony.
The most telling song on the album, “Yes I’m Changing,” details just that — a change from old to new. Parker seems entranced as he oozes emotionally charged notes at the world. He expresses a need to feed the masses, a move some of his fans might cringe at, but one he feels called to do.
“And if you don’t think it’s a crime, you can come along with me,” Parker sings.
On “Eventually,” waves build up before crashing. The ascent consists of ethereal synths and permeating vocals, but it undergoes much meandering before reaching its peak and veering down toward the asphalt. Oscillating rhythms and intensities draw the ear in and keep it there.
“New Person, Same Old Mistakes,” the final track on the album, begins with a bounce and some ambient synths as Parker once again addresses his detractors. He preaches self-discovery as oriental strings momentarily pluck in the background.
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 7/23/15]
