Two good songs at least - Elephant and FLWOGB. Yes it's retro. It does fit into some sort of continuum that includes Dungen, OTC, White Denim, maybe a bit of Ariel Pink without the cloyingness. I like them when they rock out a bit too. Any "tsk retro" dismissals are pretty lame IMO. I was very suspicious at first, but the guy knows his way around a song when he can be bothered. Pity Lonerism suffers from having far too many aimless drifty bits.
― dog latin, Tuesday, 19 February 2013 12:27 (eleven years ago) link
See also "Apocalypse Dreams" - great song.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Tuesday, 19 February 2013 15:43 (eleven years ago) link
I was using Nevermind as a barometer of age, as in the people who will dig this most are the people for whom indie music began with, I dunno, Beach House or something. No aesthetic connection implied.
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Tuesday, 19 February 2013 15:44 (eleven years ago) link
I listened to this back to front the other day and, for the most part, it has held up really well. Fridmann's mixing saves it from being just another retro psych record and takes it to the next level.
I think this may be a case where this has crossed over to a more general public thus making some record nerds angry.
― kwhitehead, Tuesday, 19 February 2013 17:05 (eleven years ago) link
So, this is basically Olivia Tremor Control for people born after Nevermind came out, mixed with a healthy dollop of Dungen, right?
i can see the OTC connection (i'm a fan of OTC) for sure, but tame impala, especially on lonerism, dials down the longish/experimental passages between the poppier stuff.
― Z S, Tuesday, 19 February 2013 17:14 (eleven years ago) link
THERE ALREADY WAS A BAND CALLED POND
― congratulations (n/a), Wednesday, 7 August 2013 15:00 (eleven years ago) link
Loved this album a year ago (ya'll crazy that there are only one or two good songs on it). Burned out on it, though.
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Wednesday, 7 August 2013 18:16 (eleven years ago) link
n/a otm
― failed gravy (electricsound), Wednesday, 7 August 2013 22:18 (eleven years ago) link
had that phase too (xpost), but i returned to it lately again. most of it is pretty fucking awesome.Be Above It and Nothing.. are the highlights imo
― nostormo, Monday, 2 September 2013 20:43 (eleven years ago) link
listened to the whole album last night driving home from a friend's house. i think the drumming is what puts this over the top and separates it from other vaguely retro psych acts.
― Treeship, Monday, 2 September 2013 20:45 (eleven years ago) link
i think the Rundgren's Wizard/star vibe in the production is what makes it special.
There's something quite strange about the drums:you can actually feel they were recorded separately from the rest.
― nostormo, Monday, 2 September 2013 20:49 (eleven years ago) link
also, sometime i'm daydreaming of a good metal cover to Be Above it. someone gotta do it.
― nostormo, Monday, 2 September 2013 20:51 (eleven years ago) link
that would be sweet. my jam on this album is "why won't they talk to me?" i'd be open to hearing all different sorts of cover versions of that song.
― Treeship, Monday, 2 September 2013 21:01 (eleven years ago) link
heard this today in the hair salon. good stuff!
upthread matt dc said: "It's kind of a slavish recreation of a sound but they're pretty good at it"
just curious - what sound is that?
― the late great, Monday, 22 September 2014 18:47 (nine years ago) link
The tame impala sound
― zip it shrimpy (dog latin), Tuesday, 23 September 2014 00:42 (nine years ago) link
eh, I think about this album now and then because I work right in front of the garden on the cover !
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 23 September 2014 11:33 (nine years ago) link
IFLWOGB and Elephant still pop up on shuffle now and again and I always enjoy them. Don't much care for the rest though.
― zip it shrimpy (dog latin), Tuesday, 23 September 2014 11:37 (nine years ago) link
update !
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127354883@N08/15328528021/
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 23 September 2014 14:09 (nine years ago) link
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127354883@N08/15328528021/lightbox/
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 23 September 2014 14:11 (nine years ago) link
I was listening to some songs again (while taking the pictures) and IFLWOGB is still great. I can't shake the impression of hearing Lennon, though.His lost jam session with Pink floyd circa 1967 !
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 23 September 2014 14:14 (nine years ago) link
Nowhere near as sonically inventive or as expansive as '67 Floyd. I like them a lot, though. So glad they've eschewed the gigantic Fender reverb on the vox that so many bands use to mitigate lame singing these days. #getoffmylawn
― hardcore dilettante, Tuesday, 23 September 2014 14:25 (nine years ago) link
i hate that effect. just sounds so lazy.
― zip it shrimpy (dog latin), Tuesday, 23 September 2014 14:26 (nine years ago) link
the new pond record 'man it feels like space again' is very entertaining. (the TA offshoot, not the pond from portland.)
― gay cat park (disambiguation) (haitch), Monday, 9 February 2015 01:56 (nine years ago) link
new single is amazing. a big step up imo
― tayto fan (Michael B), Thursday, 12 March 2015 18:18 (nine years ago) link
I attempted to get a thread going here: Tame Impala - Forthcoming 3rd LP
― Captain Maximus, Friday, 13 March 2015 23:49 (nine years ago) link
I feel bad about taking a dump in your thread. The last third of the new track is actually pretty okay.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 13 March 2015 23:51 (nine years ago) link
Wasn't sure where to post this, but how was that Melody's Echo Chamber EP so slept on this year? It's gorgeous.
― Ross, Sunday, 4 December 2016 00:14 (seven years ago) link
more than The Beatles, the album reminds me of Todd Rundgren, esp. the wizard, true star record
― nostormo, Friday, October 19, 2012 6:05 PM (five years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
^this. the one-man studio jams to the drum sound to the warmly layered analog keys & synths & vocals in places). the instrumentation/arrangements/production makes me think of "Tic Tic Tic, It Wears Off" or the psych-soul of "When the Shit Hits the Fan/Sunset Boulevard". the bass playing is real cool and it really nails that 70s studio aesthetic. none of the songs stick out too much except "Elephant. kind of a horror glam rock song, more like T-Rex. it's incredible but sounds like it's from a totally different album lol.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 February 2018 01:44 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6CZTDCb7g4
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 February 2018 01:45 (six years ago) link
I am relistening to this today and Keep On Lying really stood out before Elephant. I agree with the person who said that the fuzzy synths are the best thing about this album. Whatever the exact combination of influences is, the sound is great.
― Nabozo, Thursday, 12 May 2022 14:53 (two years ago) link