Tame Impala | Currents
The third studio album from Kevin Parker was a mainstream breakthrough with a trendy retro-psychedelic trip that was too hip for hipsters and critics not to swoon over. A combination of fashionable production and kaleidoscopic warmth create the perfect recipe for any season of listening.
“Let It Happen” is a crack track for lovers of indie music who want to take drugs and dance to bands that carry credibility value. The trippy bliss of the song lends itself both to the night club, the desert festival, or the bedroom. Parker obsessed over every detail on currents and his efforts paid off in droves. His reputation as a producer and sonic creator landed him high profile work with the likes of Lady Gaga and Kanye West.
The album was recorded in isolation and became an obsession for the artist who found that the flow of the recording process was best enhanced by a few drinks. Smoking and dancing into the evenings, the songs would shape themselves without logical or sensible direction. Literally thousands of vocal takes were tracked for the music as Parker extended his heart and soul across his sea of creation.
The album’s drum sound is one of the most important production influences of the 2010’s. By aping a classic 70’s dry snare sound, every indie act to follow was trying to figure out how Parker got such a punchy sound that tore through the mix, sounding vintage, warm, rusty, crispy, and modern all at the same time. It’s pure saturated flavour as thick and savoury as a steak. It’s now become the standard drum sound for nearly all pop music, including giants like Katy Perry.
The bass guitar is another much-copied fixture of Currents’ production tricks. On “The Less I Know The Better” the sticky, slinky, and distorted tone has made the bass player cool again, possibly for the first time since the 1970’s. While the songwriting doesn’t quite live up to the general ‘vibes”, it is still a marvel that one man was able to birth such an exquisite offering.
There’s a strong nod to 90’s R&B which began to permeate a lot of indie music of this time period, including later acts like Perfume Genius and Cub Sport. “Yes I’m Changing” could pass for a late 80’s hit song for anyone from Annie Lennox to Phil Collins. Soft and tender moments start to surface and nudge the listener to quickly dip out the back door of the dance club for a reflective cigarette.
“Cause I’m A Man” is a white person’s version of filtered falsetto soul for the post-indie generation. The reverbs are dull and generously applied which create the feeling of a lost and forgotten era (any one the listener chooses) and sprinkle on the perfect amount of ache and longing. Anything more and the album would fall into contrived territory, but instead it remains accessible and believable.
Shortly before its release Parker told the press “I still think this album is completely unlistenable.” It’s since become a staple of the greatest albums of all times lists by critics everywhere, including Rolling Stone. The albums most direct and honest moment shines through the lyric “they say people never change but that’s bullshit, they do,” a perfect compliment to Parker’s decision to change his sound and direction from his previous albums for Currents, which paid off for him in dividends.
The Current
2.5 oz blackcurrent vodka
1 oz cassis
1 oz orange liqueur
half a lemon sliced into small cubes
1 tsp sugar
5-7 blackberries
*In a cocktail shaker, muddle the blackberries, sugar, and lemon pieces. Add the rest of the ingredients, ice, and shake. Roll all the contents into a rocks glass. Squeeze a bit of lemon on top and give a stir. Garnish with skewered berries.