surprised no one's talking about this yet...
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17369-tame-impala-let-it-happen/
I'm smitten as hell.
― Captain Maximus, Wednesday, 11 March 2015 17:33 (nine years ago) link
Really? This is dull and pointless as fuck. I mean, there may wind up being something on the album I'll like, but not this.
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 11 March 2015 17:42 (nine years ago) link
*slinks away with tail between legs*
― Captain Maximus, Thursday, 12 March 2015 04:34 (nine years ago) link
did not think they would go the pop route but this may work. their first dance single clocks in at around eight minutes, sort of love that.
― Bee OK, Saturday, 14 March 2015 03:14 (nine years ago) link
I'm not feeling the new track. Hope the rest of the album's better. There's a, shudder, EDM vibe to this for some reason.
― ^^^ NOT METAL (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Saturday, 14 March 2015 03:21 (nine years ago) link
so they turned into MGMT/Air? sort of? meh..
― nostormo, Thursday, 26 March 2015 11:26 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyEB2AEqHxc
liking the MJ influence
kind of hope the album has no guitars on it whatsoever
― PaulTMA, Monday, 6 April 2015 19:23 (eight years ago) link
You say that at the same time you post a song where the main musical hook is played on a guitar?
I dunno, I don't really like either of these songs so far.
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 6 April 2015 19:31 (eight years ago) link
sounds like a bass to me, which is a type of guitar
― PaulTMA, Monday, 6 April 2015 19:59 (eight years ago) link
this sounds p chillwavey
― Οὖτις, Monday, 6 April 2015 20:04 (eight years ago) link
Reminds me of something from the last Strokes album.
― Kitchen Person, Monday, 6 April 2015 20:07 (eight years ago) link
I am not feeling this. Sounds like a bad Tame Impala side project.
― ^^^ NOT METAL (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Monday, 6 April 2015 21:39 (eight years ago) link
Sounds like prime time Wham.
― Hinklepicker, Tuesday, 7 April 2015 02:09 (eight years ago) link
yeah, this p much the exact opposite of the direction I'd hoped they'd go. glad the new Pond album is fun, if it ever gets a stateside release.
― ƋППṍӮɨ∏ğڵșěᶉᶇдM℮ (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 14:42 (eight years ago) link
i'm liking their new songs, even though it doesn't sound like Tame Impala anymore.
― Bee OK, Tuesday, 7 April 2015 15:33 (eight years ago) link
Cause I'm a Man is excellent.
― cod latin (dog latin), Thursday, 9 July 2015 14:22 (eight years ago) link
on the one side : the mojo review that makes me think i will love this.on the other : this thread.
i have the first album, but it didn't really click with me, so yet to bother getting the second.but, the mojo write up does sound like the new one will hit my sweet spots.
― mark e, Thursday, 9 July 2015 16:44 (eight years ago) link
mark e, you should check out Lonerism. I didn't like the debut at all, and their second lp was in my top five for that year (2012, I think?).
Checking out the new one on NPR now...
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Sunday, 12 July 2015 23:35 (eight years ago) link
First song in, "Let It In", sounds like a remix of a Tame Imapala song I've yet to hear.
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Sunday, 12 July 2015 23:39 (eight years ago) link
Impala, whatever
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Sunday, 12 July 2015 23:40 (eight years ago) link
Track two was a nonstarter. It was just starting to get potentially interesting then stopped.
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Sunday, 12 July 2015 23:41 (eight years ago) link
Hopefully this short track-by-track impression isn't tedious to read. I figure most people on this board hate this band, so I'm probably just talking to the wall, but that's OK.
I can see the Chillwavey impressions mentioned above, especially from tracks 3 and 4. I like the swampy dance vibe from these tracks. I have no clue how many of the tracks I've heard, and yet to hear, will grow on me. It took awhile for Lonerism to grow on me.
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Sunday, 12 July 2015 23:49 (eight years ago) link
Willing to give this more time but at the moment I'm of the pov that about half of it is incredible and half is boring / trash.
― carly bae jepsen (monotony), Monday, 13 July 2015 00:53 (eight years ago) link
i've been hoping i'm impatient but so far not feeling this at all. if he wanted to go balearic mushroom trip beach shore i get it but there's madchester jangle ravecore that could've added some further texture
― reggie (qualmsley), Monday, 13 July 2015 02:01 (eight years ago) link
― carly bae jepsen (monotony)
This is exactly how I feel. I was listening to this today at some points thinking to myself how he's finally gone and made a great album but at other times I was willing songs to end. It's a weird album. The production is gorgeous all the way through but some of the songs just don't seem to be there. They're a really frustrating group.
I still think the Melody's Echo Chamber album he produced is far better than any of his albums.
― Kitchen Person, Monday, 13 July 2015 03:11 (eight years ago) link
Until just now I've always had it in my mind that their name was Tamala Impala, with the a ending each word pronounced with a long e.
― JacobSanders, Monday, 13 July 2015 05:23 (eight years ago) link
turns out it wasn't 'cause i'm a man' that i was into, it was 'eventually'.
― cod latin (dog latin), Monday, 13 July 2015 08:13 (eight years ago) link
i love the cause im a man single and the b sides. i quite liked them before, but found a lot of their songs (or singles at least) to be quite samey and not really going anywhere, and also a bit mannered in the pastiche aspects (can see why mark ronson was a fan). maybe i should have investigated the albums but the new stuff sounds much more modern. disciples sounds quite a bit like ariel pink but eventually and cause im a man are totally up my street, a bit scritti, a bit beck/air, and production that surprisingly makes me think of certain electronic/hip hop producers. am really excited to hear the album.
― StillAdvance, Monday, 13 July 2015 09:50 (eight years ago) link
*modern and more of the moment, which i see as a good thing, though prob as i wasnt a fan before
― StillAdvance, Monday, 13 July 2015 09:51 (eight years ago) link
I think dude is an interesting producer and a good writer of hooks but he's kinda tedious to listen to as a singer. I could imagine a performer w/ more versatility doing great things w. eg "The Less I Know, The Better." I'm also tempted to say the Unknown Mortal Orchestra record from earlier this year did the studio-perfectionist/groovy melancholic psychedelia vibe better.
― the naive cockney chorus (Simon H.), Monday, 13 July 2015 12:01 (eight years ago) link
I hear nothing remotely pastiche-ish about 'let it happen," not only the only song I've ever liked from this guy, but my fave song to be put out this year. and ILM doesn't like (or doesn't want to admit to liking) the guy because the corporate indie industry has been beating the drum for an album by auteurish white guy somewhat invested in G/B/D.
― veronica moser, Monday, 13 July 2015 12:17 (eight years ago) link
Its more K/B/D though, isn't it?
― 29 facepalms, Monday, 13 July 2015 13:12 (eight years ago) link
Someone I work with and like, who I've sometimes talked music with, is a Tame Impala fan, so I feel a little motivation to give them a chance, but I remain unexcited by "Because I'm a Man" and "Let It Happen." I'm not aware of how much or how little Tame Impala is being pushed right now.
x-post
― _Rudipherous_, Monday, 13 July 2015 13:19 (eight years ago) link
i didnt realise they were being pushed that much - i just heard two songs on radio 1.
― StillAdvance, Monday, 13 July 2015 13:23 (eight years ago) link
pitchfork is pushing them (not that i read pitchfork) -- a 9.3/10.0 (!) "best new music" designation -- kind of like how they gave that turd of a recent arcade fire disco album, reflektor, a 9.2 (not that i read pitchfork). does anyone still listen to that? currents is a way better record than reflektor, but doesn't approach the highs of inner speaker or lonerism imho
― reggie (qualmsley), Monday, 13 July 2015 14:12 (eight years ago) link
very excited to be listening to this this week.
― Bee OK, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 02:11 (eight years ago) link
not on Spotify yet, guess i will have to wait until Friday?
― Bee OK, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 02:14 (eight years ago) link
Listening to it again today I realised that the songs all seem too long (Apart from the interludes which are sometimes the most interesting part of the album) I was surprised that most of the songs aren't actually that long they just really feel that way. Let It Happen could do with being two or three minutes shorter than it is.
Some of it reminds me of Washed Out and some of it reminds me of Todd Rundgren. I really can't get my head round the album. Definitely doesn't sound like a 9.3 kind of album to me at this stage.
― Kitchen Person, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 02:38 (eight years ago) link
I do not understand the love for this band. The vocals on this album are terrible. It's like taking the 30 seconds of an Ariel Pink song that the casual "indie" listener could tolerate and dragging it out for an eternity. Why do people love this band so much?
― Benjamin-, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 03:30 (eight years ago) link
Innerspeaker is their worst album by a mile
― PaulTMA, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 09:52 (eight years ago) link
I've come around to Innerspeaker. Lonerism is my favorite. Nothing I've heard off of this new one excites me, sounds like a shitty Tame Impala side project to me.
― that's why god destroyed the radio (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Tuesday, 14 July 2015 10:06 (eight years ago) link
fantastic songs: "let it happen" (the last few minutes!), "disciples", "the moment", "the less i know the better"
everything else i either don't care about or is actively bad, particularly the one with darth vader spoken word vox
― carly bae jepsen (monotony), Tuesday, 14 July 2015 12:26 (eight years ago) link
I do not understand the love for this band.
― Benjamin-, Tuesday, July 14, 2015 3:30 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
^^^^
― Wimmels, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 13:56 (eight years ago) link
I hate the p4k-review, but I have to admit, I kinda like the baselines on this album. And the production. And some of the melodies.
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 14:38 (eight years ago) link
the aesthetic of this album is a tired one. makes me think of Coachella teens and Ariel Pink's long reign of influence. when everything got "soft focus" and too retro for it's own good
― hackshaw, Wednesday, 15 July 2015 02:17 (eight years ago) link
yes but what about the masculinity
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Wednesday, 15 July 2015 02:38 (eight years ago) link
I'm writing a think piece on just that subject!
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 15 July 2015 06:40 (eight years ago) link
Awesome.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 15 July 2015 14:30 (eight years ago) link
adore this album. see nothing wrong with it. let it happen is a tad cold and bland but it gets progressively better. dont get so much of a bee gees vibe as a daft punk/RAM vibe (which might be why i like it so much, and something i am slightly concerned about, but not enough to stop listening).
― StillAdvance, Thursday, 16 July 2015 14:57 (eight years ago) link
i always thought i hated this band but my girlfriend got me into them and you know they're just fun & full of hooks and funky drum breaks. i haven't heard any of the new album yet
― flopson, Thursday, 16 July 2015 16:21 (eight years ago) link
― Bee OK, Tuesday, July 14, 2015 2:14 AM (2 days ago
In the US, it's an NPR First Listen this week
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 16 July 2015 16:35 (eight years ago) link
so exciting. got my copy early. going to give a listen now ...
― the late great, Friday, 17 July 2015 00:46 (eight years ago) link
dang the first song is dire. but it got a lot better after that. though i liked most of the rest of it, i'd still rank it well below both "innerspeaker" and "lonerism".
this is interesting because this is pretty much what kept me away from both "innerspeaker" and "lonerism" for a long time.
It's like taking the 30 seconds of an Ariel Pink song that the casual "indie" listener could tolerate and dragging it out for an eternity.
this sounds right but maybe not like such a bad thing. comparisons to air seem apt too. reminded me of 10000 hz legend, at times.
― the late great, Friday, 17 July 2015 01:46 (eight years ago) link
I still need to listen to this more, but my initial impressions are favorable but I am still not as wowed as some (who seem to think the inclusion of funkier beats and less rock guitar is somehow groundbreaking) or as disgusted as others (I noticed that the W. Post pop music critic retweeted a tweet accusing Tame Impala of being last gasp desperate rock guy trying to stay relevent by appropriating contemporary African-American music; or something like that)
― curmudgeon, Friday, 17 July 2015 15:01 (eight years ago) link
this kinda sounds like an alternate universe followup to caribou's andorra, if snaith hadn't gotten all into dance music
― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Friday, 17 July 2015 16:24 (eight years ago) link
As discussed elsewhere Pitchfork gave it a 9.3. There are a handful of 9.3's and D'angelo got a 9.4. I'd put it in the 8 range
― curmudgeon, Monday, 20 July 2015 14:42 (eight years ago) link
i've only listened to a few of these songs and what strikes me is that it's a much 'fuller', more 3D and less obviously rock (but still psychedelic) record, and i like that.
― (no offence to people) (dog latin), Monday, 20 July 2015 14:47 (eight years ago) link
so far there are 2-3 tracks that I enjoy and many that I find meh. roughly my perception of the 2 previous albums though there's nothing here that I like as much as "feels like we only go backwards".I still need to listen to the whole thing a few times to have a clearer idea.a friend noted that most (all?) the lyrics are about his breakup with melody chambers.
― AlXTC from Paris, Monday, 20 July 2015 15:24 (eight years ago) link
My thinking is that it's about his breakup with guitars.
The problem with the idea that synths are more forward-thinking than guitars is that plenty of synth technology pre-dates many guitar effects pedals. If someone prefers to always use synths and electronics, that's one thing, but this cliche that moving from guitars to synths is some sort of "progression" that will future-proof their music is ridiculous. Despite all that, I've been playing the hell out of the album and enjoying it both in the background, and the songs that stick in my brainstem.
― Fastnbulbous, Monday, 20 July 2015 16:12 (eight years ago) link
this sounds a lot like that gayngs record in places
― ciderpress, Monday, 20 July 2015 16:14 (eight years ago) link
yeah, i don't get the trend about incorporating "synths" or funk music as something futuristic either.
it's a cop out for not being able to come up with anything interesting on a guitar
― hackshaw, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 01:06 (eight years ago) link
i really like the short interludes, and the 80s adult contemporary vibe of tracks like "cause i'm a man"
― the late great, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 02:10 (eight years ago) link
nothing ground breaking here as they are still mining the past, just a different past to previously, but somehow losing their loyalty to psych seems to have freed him up a bit i think
― StillAdvance, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 10:35 (eight years ago) link
Sure, anytime you give up on the genre of music you play you're free to do whatever. Just kinda sucks if people liked that genre.
― that's why god destroyed the radio (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Tuesday, 21 July 2015 11:16 (eight years ago) link
So after listening to the whole thing a bit more, the tracks I like are : "let it happen", "yes I'm changing" and "the less I know" (+ interlude "nangs").the rest goes from ok to boring imo.It seems there are (too) many ballads/slow songs, doesn't it ?
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 13:57 (eight years ago) link
Even Let it Happen is a fairly boring track other than the production. I really don't get the critical love for these guys, they just sound like a studied amalgam of a bunch of other popular indie of the last decade, and there's something a bit gutless about it. The vocals are sweet like splenda.
― five six and (man alive), Wednesday, 29 July 2015 03:13 (eight years ago) link
meaningless criticisms
― the late great, Wednesday, 29 July 2015 03:56 (eight years ago) link
It's a bit strange to keep reading about "these guys" when the album was written, recorded, performed, produced and mixed by the one dude. Almost as odd as finding out that a person signed to Modular turns out to be a Daft Punk fan.
Overall - Past Life is the one out-and-out dud; the lack of guitars isn't an issue (better synths than sitars, right?); don't blame Tame Impala for Ian Cohen.
― Vernon Locke, Wednesday, 29 July 2015 07:10 (eight years ago) link
so they are on live at the moment at lollapalozza:
http://lollapalooza.redbull.tv/
― Bee OK, Saturday, 1 August 2015 23:50 (eight years ago) link
I think the album is a little boring but maybe that's the point
― calstars, Sunday, 2 August 2015 03:09 (eight years ago) link
It just hit me that this record reminds me a good bit of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
― five six and (man alive), Sunday, 2 August 2015 03:21 (eight years ago) link
which is a record I love, btw, but I just don't feel like the songs are as strong here
also parts of it sound like Com Truise
― five six and (man alive), Sunday, 2 August 2015 03:24 (eight years ago) link
It just sort of floats along, so inconsequential, wish it was a bit more engaging
― calstars, Sunday, 2 August 2015 03:50 (eight years ago) link
"Love/Paranoia" hits me right in the gut. The lyrics are so real and cleverly laid out and the overlapping guitar, vocal and strings lines at the end put me on the verge of tears every time. Elsewhere, the opener, closer and Cause I'm a Man are standouts.
― MrExplorer, Sunday, 2 August 2015 22:27 (eight years ago) link
Definitely one of those full album listening experiences.
― calstars, Sunday, 2 August 2015 22:36 (eight years ago) link
i didn't like the singles before the LP came out, but then heard the LP and immediately loved them in that context.
anyway just came to say the soulwax remix rulz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfr-h6BaYN8
― davey, Monday, 21 September 2015 22:36 (eight years ago) link
love the album but it doesnt sound as good as i wanted it to on cd/through my speakers. i was expecting a daft punk/dangelo kind of audio fidelity, but i think it sounds better through headphones. or maybe it just needs to be played very loud.
― StillAdvance, Wednesday, 9 December 2015 21:18 (eight years ago) link
Listening to this album VERY loud, especially the opening half, especially in a car going at least 65 is the best way to listen to this album imo. I think that's more the music talking than the mastering but admittedly I haven't listened to it as much in more tempered settings
― MrExplorer, Thursday, 10 December 2015 00:39 (eight years ago) link
the people who didn't care for this album clearly don't smoke weed
― j. winters (josh), Thursday, 14 April 2016 18:45 (seven years ago) link
or theyre just R&B/disco, etc-phobes
― StillAdvance, Friday, 15 April 2016 09:20 (seven years ago) link
...or they just liked their style before this rather abrupt and kinda boring change in sound.
― a spate of non-fatal hammer attacks (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 15 April 2016 09:41 (seven years ago) link
...or they just dont see that this is still as trippy and psychedelic as before (maybe more so even), even though its not psych-rock
― StillAdvance, Friday, 15 April 2016 09:52 (seven years ago) link
Well phrased, I definitely don't.
― a spate of non-fatal hammer attacks (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 15 April 2016 11:53 (seven years ago) link
This music would majorly harsh the vibe of the pot smokers I know
― lute bro (brimstead), Friday, 15 April 2016 19:09 (seven years ago) link
seems to have ruffled the feathers of the Shindig types who see neo-psychedelia as THE FUTURE
― PaulTMA, Saturday, 16 April 2016 14:10 (seven years ago) link
Yes, I'm sure paisley monacles were popppin when this came out
― a spate of non-fatal hammer attacks (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Sunday, 17 April 2016 05:59 (seven years ago) link
Earlier Tame Impala really, really does not seem like Shindig friendly stuff tbh, but maybe Shindig has branched out over the past ten years
― a spate of non-fatal hammer attacks (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Sunday, 17 April 2016 06:00 (seven years ago) link