Deadbeat: Album Review

After 5 years since Tame Impala’s last outing with The Slow Rush, Kevin Parker has returned to the spotlight with Deadbeat, an album that has shaken up the core sound that Tame Impala has built over the last decade.

We got our first taste of what to expect back in July of this year, with the lead single End of Summer (which plays as the outro of this album). The song is a straight up dance track, which was instantly met with mixed and polarising reactions to the diehard fans, but if you had kept up with Kevin’s movements over the last couple years, this wouldn’t really have been too surprising. He had not only been playing surprise DJ sets before this, but was also fresh off a team-up with the iconic French Electronic duo Justice, with the tracks Neverender and One Night/All Night.

Our next offering was the track Loser, which sounds almost like a psychedelic western with its addicting riff. This song might be the closest we get to the traditional Tame Impala sound, but it also lays down the groundwork for Kevin’s approach over the whole album, which is songs that are very stripped down and borderline simplistic (complimentary).

The albums intro My Old Ways is one of many introspective moments that sets the tone right off the bat. It explores Kevin’s anxieties of wanting to change but struggling to break his old habits. The song starts with this strange time signature over a raw piano that eventually transitions into this hypnotic heavy bass line that is impossible not to fall in love with.

The rest of the album runs through a variety of different sounds that feels like we are exploring his psyche, with lo-fi moments like the track No Reply, synth-pop bangers and disco infused songs like Dracula and Afterthought, and the techno epics that are Not My World, End of Summer, and Ethereal Connection (the latter being a track I NEED to hear in its 8-minute entirety at a festival like Pitch).

Although it’s not to say that this album doesn’t have its flaws. For some of the songs, the stripped down vibe does not compliment them too well. Oblivion has Kevin on a low-fi reggae-house beat that may have been saved if it didn’t run for 4 and a half minutes. It's repetition of the phrase “I Would” over the long chorus can get old very quickly. Piece Of Heaven is lyrically a love letter to music itself, and although it is exquisitely produced, yet another almost 5 minute track that bloats the track-list more than it supports it.

Overall, Deadbeat is a more than welcome addition to Tame Impala’s discography that I think is going to be appreciated the more that time goes on. It especially feels like an album so rooted in Aussie culture, and I can’t wait to experience this one live when he’s back home.

If you are dying for a taste of these tracks live, you can see Kevin playing a DJ set this December, opening for Justice in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. You can get tickets here.

Standout Tracks: My Old Ways, Ethereal Connection, Afterthought

Album review by George Margaritis.