10 years ago today: Tame Impala released Currents

Originally published in Hot Press in 2015:

Tame Impala’s last album, Lonerism, sounded better on paper than in reality – a collection of psychedelic dirges marked by frontman Kevin Parker’s struggles with depression. What this amounted to was a prog affair that occasionally roused itself into a memorable chorus yet was often bleary and disembodied.

The follow-up is far more coherent – a sign, perhaps, of increased confidence from Parker and maybe a desire to build on the acclaim of his previous LP (which saw the band feted by critics and touring mid-scale venues such as Dublin’s Olympia). A hip-hop swagger underpins the sinuous ‘Nangs’, while the bouncy ‘Let It Happen’ suggests Daft Punk overdosing on the Beach Boys.

There are occasional flashes of darkness: ‘The Less I Know The Better’ walks the happy-sad dynamic, its fizzy melodies offset by a slowly-building anxiety, while ‘Love Paranoia’ is upbeat to the point of maniacal.

Still, those undercurrents can be happily ignored – strictly at the level of rollicking pop affair, Currents scores bullseye after bullseye.

Revisit Currents below: