For his followup to 2012’s guitar-heavy masterpiece Lonerism, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker resolved to incorporate more R&B influences into his brand of psychedelia in pursuit of a more danceable, pop-oriented sound. Along the way he transcended the thematic loneliness and isolation of Lonerism and its predecessor Innerspeaker to settle into a groove within the greater flow of life. I’m not well-versed enough on Parker’s personal life to call Currents a breakup album, but in a sense it certainly plays like one. Rather than dwelling on loss, it focuses on the reclamation of oneself. Parker steps back from the puzzle and gains a view of the picture it is forming. Under the taking of such a perfectionist and music obsessive this all leads to a nearly perfect, universally enjoyable, defining work.
As they’ve always done, Tame Impala evokes the spirit of 1960's psychedelic rock in such an authentic and confident manner that it never sounds nostalgic or derivative. Currents ramps up the modernism, giving the overall sound the timeless nature of a dream. Basslines thump and throb, guitars mesh with synthesizers to alternate between soaring leads and gritty low grooves, and processed vocals become an ethereal instrument of their own.
Parker works all of this push-and-pull into his unique mold of impeccable songcraft. In his trademarked falsetto croon he ruminates on personal change and transcendence. Album opener Let it Happen immediately evokes the background of the album’s cover, a network of pathways representing the world’s infinite perpetuation and the constant sensory barrage of life ("it's always around me, all this noise..."). We all have the tendency to tune it out, either for the purpose of fighting against it in pursuit of one's one end, or for letting it carry us away in apathy. As it turns out, life lies within that flow, and the only solution is to jump in. Upon doing so one comes the realization that they were "ready all along". Yes I’m Changing emphasizes the other half of the cover art: the splashes of color and rippling aftereffects created by each individual’s actions and perspective. By accepting that "life is moving" he is able to stop hiding and manifest "another version of (him)self". With these two songs, and throughout the album as a whole, Parker presents the universe as an unstoppable force while recognizing that same power in himself. By virtue of simply living as part of the universe, he holds all of its power, able through his decisions and actions to alter its very fabric beyond any possible comprehension – simultaneously likewise for every individual in any given moment: "There's a world out there and it's calling my name/and it's calling your's too". On Eventually, Parker seems to reach a sublime contentment in this realization of infinite eternity, even in the face of the toughest decisions.
Currents is primarily an album about coming into one’s own via surrender to the bigger picture and the present moment. True to this theme, Parker’s vocals surface opportunistically, before giving way to infectious beats and overwhelming waves of sound. The start/stop rhythms are reminiscent of both vintage R&B and modern electronic/dance music, around which otherworldly guitars swirl with the freedom of not having to carry the track. Parker has an uncanny knack for managing noise and the space between. On Currents they are two sides of the same coin, rising to perfect crescendos at the most organic moments.
Currents greatest strength is the timeless ease of its experience. Through its free-flowing melodicism it becomes a soundtrack to the world unfolding around oneself. Every part is integral, giving the overall product a profound sense of oneness. All of life is right here, and there is nothing to do but live it. In that, Currents becomes an encapsulation of summer itself.
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