Top 5 Most Underrated Tame Impala Songs

 

    

 Tame Impala is mysteriously, still an anomaly in the music scene. Seeming to only break into the mainstream partially with the release of Currents. Kevin Parker, the mastermind behind the psychedelic indie rock sound of Tame Impala, has been releasing music for the better part of a decade now. Ask anybody who Tame Impala is and you will probably get some type of “yes” and the recognition of tracks like “Let it Happen” and “The Less I Know the Better.” Still, it is hard to understand the reason why certain tracks are more popular than others, and why Tame Impala’s first and second releases fly under the radar. That being said, these are five of the most underrated tracks Kevin Parker has crafted across his discography, and why they are so damn good.

5.  Expectation

    This Track is off of Tame Impala’s debut album Innerspeaker. A record about the feelings of isolation, unreciprocated love and hopelessness, tracks like this really showcase the predominant guitar sounds and classic drums Kevin Parker is a master at creating. “Expectation” begins with just that, a simple and beautiful guitar riff coupled together with some smooth percussion. The track explores the feeling of expecting love to come and questioning the reality of that love, wondering if it was actually real. This is evident in the first lines of the track, When Kevin Parker sings “Everything you ever told me could have been a lie, we may never have been in love, stuck on thinking that there is always something to lose.” The vocals are super silky and smooth, seeming to be flowing from Kevin’s lips with a sense of urgency. The vocals also seem to be slightly overlaid with one another, producing this effect of two people echoing these words at the same time, Kevin himself and perhaps the this other person who could not love him. The chorus is really psychedelic, being introduced by this short, rising “wooo” sound, then adding in some synth-like guitar sounds and evolving the bass to deliver this rapid rhythm and melody, combined with some clear percussion to round it off. Kevin says in the chorus “Fluctuations are aching my soul, expectation is taking its toll, expectation is taking its toll, cause everything you ever told me could have been a lie, we may have never been in love.” Here it is clear that Kevin can’t seem the bear these ever-changing emotions, and the expectations of this girl loving him are damaging him. In the next verse the instrumentation changes and adds in some really creative textures. The guitar elements have really molded with the track; a steady bassline controls the tempo and the same riff we had been hearing has combined with a synthesizer to produce an even more spacy effect. A reverberating psychedelic sound echoes in the background and over the production. Kevin’s vocals aren’t tuned as high as they were, melding together more and effortlessly flowing through this verse thanks to his euphonious voice. After the chorus comes back in for the final time, the track ends but we get a change in instrumentation. The production comes back in with the same percussion except even faster this time. The echoing, cosmic synth sound is even louder and more pressing and the guitar strings are heavily tuned, resonating in and out as fast as ever. The rhythm and melody repeat at a faster rate than at any other moment in the track, and just as fast as this change begun, it ends and the track concludes in an abrupt manner.

4.  Mind Mischief

    This next track comes off of Tame Impala’s second release, Lonerism. A ballad of the anxiety associated with the pursuit of love and the mixed feelings a girl will leave you with, this song is arguably his best off of Lonerism. Starting off we are immediately hit with a super catchy electrifying guitar riff and a stellar, fucking punchy drum loop that instantly gets stuck in your head. The guitar strings wane down as the drum piece comes in, allowing us to easily distinguish between them, but still hear how well they both complement each other. The bassline that comes in with the vocals really helps steady the melody and is, like many Tame Impala sounds, synthed out and precariously psychedelic in nature. Kevin sings “Two Hundred things I took the wrong way, but I say her love gauge is running low, I tried to fill it but it overflowed.” Kevin acknowledges how he might of took things the wrong way, but feels that that is in part her fault as well. He tried to love this girl, but ultimately it ended up backfiring on him. The vocals here from Kevin are silky and pensive, while also extremely impassioned. They convey a slight tone of frustration and anger towards this person who he just couldn’t love the right way. The hook comes in and Kevin flows with the continuous guitar riff and drums that have been ever present with his harmonizing and buttery smooth vocals. He says “Feels like my life is ready to blow, me and my love will take it slow, I hope she knows that I love her alone, I just don’t know where the hell I belong.” Kevin comes off as distressed here while also eager at the fact that he feels like his life is ready to finally go forward. He wants this person to know that he loves her with all his heart, but Kevin can’t seem to find his place in this world, therefore making the love imperfect. The instrumentation slightly changes after this, with the guitar riff and baseline becoming a little more prominent, elevating in volume and reverberating with more synth like tone, but still keeping with the same melody and rhythm as before. Another element that comes in is this floating, psychedelic piano key that is elongated over the rest of the track. As we get to the tail end of the song, more evanescent keys and notes come in and out of the instrumentation, providing an even deeper emotional and spaced out feel. Towards the end of the track, Kevin puts in some fleeting, amalgamating vocals about not being wrong about love anymore and ultimately accepting his situation.

3.  Jeremy’s Storm

     This track is off of Tame Impala’s first album Innerspeaker. The song is pure instrumentation, so no vocals, but that doesn’t take away from the joy and ambience of this stellar piece. Kevin Parker begins with a pretty simple, ethereal guitar melody that starts out on its own, eventually accompanied by a strong, resonating baseline that’s been synthed out in classic Tame Impala fashion. This moment in the track is akin to the calm before the storm, building slowly, arriving closer to the climax. The drums come in during the next stage of the track, super clean and strong with a punching cymbal starting to hit in rhythm, taking the tempo of the track to the next stage. “Jeremy’s Storm” builds and builds until it suddenly reverts back, losing the guitar melody and trading that out for more grungy reverberating string chords. The so called “storm” is really represented in the instrumentation so each new evolution and addition of sounds is the storm getting closer. The production gets really creative as Kevin adds in some unique guitar slides and miniscule psychedelic sounds and effects, ever so slowly becoming more intense. Strangely, as the music starts to speed up, it abruptly slows down again. The guitar melody regresses and we start to hear an actual rain sound, likely representing the downpour beginning, yet to hear the crackling lightning and booming thunder. Fitting with this theme of change, the instrumentation switches up another time, reverting back to the initial chords and percussion we had been hearing. Finally, just as it had been building and slowing down, the track enters its climax and really comes alive, raging and flourishing all at once. The original sound is still present, but is layered and layered with vibrating synth chords and echoing drums. This continues and grows louder, becoming vastly overwhelming until just as soon as it began, it stops. “Jeremy’s Storm” gradually de-escalates, erasing all the instrumentation until only a vibrating chord is left. After that, it is finished off with no other sounds except for some dreamy, intermittent guitar strums that signal the end of the storm.

2. Yes I’m Changing

    This track off of Currents is one of moving on and specifically a breakup with his then girlfriend Melody Prochet. The track starts with some slow, clean drums and bass. Suddenly, layered synth keys and this super rich, beautiful chord floats through the instrumental, and really sets the tone of heartache and loss in this track. Kevin sings “Life is moving can’t you see? There’s no future left for you and me, I was hoping and was searching endlessly, but, baby, now there’s nothing left that I can do.” We can see that he is accepting this change and necessity to move on, but it still hurts him deeply. Kevin’s vocals here are angelic, some of the most sorrowful and heartfelt that he has ever delivered. The chorus is fantastic as well, with Kevin hitting notes in a ridiculously high range. The instrumentation changes slightly during the hook by adding in some very light and soft keys every so often, accenting Kevin’s vocals quite well. In the second verse Kevin sings “Curse indulgence and despise the fame, there is a world out there its calling your name, and it’s calling yours, girls it’s calling yours too….It’s calling out for you.” Here we can see Kevin realizes he has fallen victim to his indulgences, but he must move on to heal from this, but Melody must also move on as well. Kevin is reassuring and genuinely wants what is best for him and is ex-girlfriend. His vocals and melodies are just as alluring, delivering some magnificent harmonization. As the track ends, the percussion changes and mellows out, and the overall tone of the track slows down and pulls a little less on the heartstrings. Over the echoing vocals Kevin delivers, the production is complimented by some fragile and fleeting synth keys that trickle down throughout the outro. Kevin sings here “Arise and walk on through (time rolls on), the world beyond that door, is calling out for you (time rolls on), Arise and walk on through, it’s calling out for you (listen to it call).” It seems Kevin is moving on here however, into what we don’t really know. The door he sings of could be the next chapter of his life and also that of Melody’s. The vocals near the end are layered and endlessly echoed by Kevin as the track fades away, helped along by some samples of cars honking and moving along in the some cityscape, signaling the finality of his situation and his acceptance of life going forward into the unknown.

1. Posthumous Forgiveness

    The only track on this list off of The Slow Rush, This is Tame Impala’s most underrated track for a plethora of reasons. The track begins with a clean snare and hits us with some groovy synth chords and gorgeous psychedelic keys, resonating and undulating around over the rhythm. Helped along by some delicate drums and crooning, resentful vocals Kevin delivers about his father. “Posthumous Forgiveness” is a song about Kevin’s father who died and showcases arguably his best songwriting and classic indie rock psychedelic production. Kevin begins with singing “Ever since I was a schoolboy, no one else compared to you, no way, I always thought heroes stayed close, whenever troubled times arose, I didn’t know, that ain’t always how it goes.” Kevin is clearly distressed and full of pent up anger, expressed by the sheer sadness he gives off with his sound and vocals. Here he is calling his father his hero and questions why he has left him, especially when he had so much admiration for him. The melancholy guitar chords that hit throughout the track are absolutely gutting. Kevin is able to convey so much agony with just a few notes and it is sad and beautiful all at once. The instrumental changes on the words Kevin says “Did you think I’d never know? Never wise-up as I grow?” The pace of the chords and piano keys accelerates and drops back down again to what it were originally, up until the next lyrics are sung. Kevin sings “And you could store an ocean in the holes in any of the explanations that you gave, and while you still had time, you had a chance, but you decided to take all your sorrys to the grave.” Kevin is really venting here, angry at the fact that his father could have told him the truth about certain things and why their relationship was so complicated. Kevin hates him for never apologizing and never explaining to him what was really going on. The next half of this track is signaled by a complete change in the instrumental, becoming more upbeat but still highlighted with tones of remorse and sadness. Once this occurs, we get some spaced out synthesized chords resonating in the background and some minimal percussion, focusing on what Kevin is now saying. Once he sings the first few lines of this verse, some deeper pitched chords come in, and some clean, indescribably lovely drums enter, sailing with the marvelous vocals Kevin now sings. This section of the track is the magnum opus of Tame Impala’s musical career, hitting the listener with the most thoughtful of lyrics complimented by other-worldly instrumentation. Kevin sings “I wanna tell you about the time, wanna tell you about my life, wanna play you all my songs.” It’s apparent that Kevin has now forgiven his father for leaving him. However, not being able to reconcile this relationship in regards to his fame and success really hurt him, but now he wants his dad to be there and hear what he has created. He just wants his dad to love him and be a proud father, which I am sure he is. He later sings “You’re just a man after all, and I know you had demons, I got some of my own, I think you passed them along.” The track ends with Kevin Parker realizing all these things were outside of both him and his father’s control, forgiving his absence and misunderstandings, but still longing for the presence of his father.