Top 3 Tame Impala songs to help deal with your various lockdown moods

By: Merissa Alyea Binti Omar Ariff

Music often speaks to us in ways that are in tune with the emotions we feel through melodies or lyrical contents. A current artist that understands this concept all too well is Australian psychedelic rock band, Tame Impala.

Tame Impala released their first studio album, Innerspeaker back in 2010. Although the band did not receive the kind of recognition they do today, over the years, the mastermind behind the musical project, Kevin Parker, has written, recorded, and produced the band's music himself. Throughout the band's four studio albums, Parker has experimented with different sounds by creating innovative sounds and venturing into a multitude of different instruments, with his favorites being synthesisers, guitars, and drums, all crafted and perfected with his signature style which he dubs ‘The Wall Of Sound’. This all leads up to each album having unique sounds that are not repetitive on other albums. Although Tame Impala are well known for their innovative mix of Bee-Gees-disco-like rhythms combined with a hint of 60’s psychedelic rock, it could be said that frontman Parker’s lyrical value is often underlooked, drawing from themes of loneliness and introspective reflections. With all four albums exploring different themes and unique sounds, here are top three Tame Impala songs for three different moods you may go through this lockdown.

1. Alter-ego

Alter-ego is from Tame Impala’s first studio album Innerspesker. This song is something to listen to when you are struggling with self-realization and self-acceptance. In this day and age, we may not realise it, but it is surprisingly easy for us to get caught up on the superficialities present in our daily lives . Alter-ego is the perfect song that describes the conflict we may face between the little voices in our head and the undenying part of us that has a dire need to ‘fit in’ with the crowd, while further reconciling them to understand the symbiotic nature they play in accepting who we truly are. It is an ideal tune that can be appreciated by those who just aren’t sure of themselves yet and tend to struggle with finding the importance of establishing who they are.

2. Why Won’t They Talk To Me

Why Won’t They Talk To Me best defines Tame Impala’s second studio album Lonerism. It is the perfect anthem for the presumed loners and introverts of the world as it encapsulates their need for human connection though the conflicting notions when the connection is present. The blended vocals Parker merges with the dreamy synths on the song creates a very melancholic isolating feeling which could be very relatable for introverts and loners who fear to take a step to build a connection with society in fears of being disappointed or worse, rejected. This song provides a secure comfort zone to those introverts and loners who prefer to live in their own head without having the fear of being judged for it.

3. Tomorrow’s Dust

Tame Impala’s most recently released album The Slow Rush is an album that personifies time and how it is continuously in motion, however at the same time ‘seemingly static’. Tomorrow’s Dust is a significant representation of the album's connection to the concept of time. Most of us can’t help to sometimes find ourselves feeling nostalgic for things that have happened in the past and sometimes we want to keep on reminiscing about it because we may feel that some things won't happen to us twice. Tomorrow’s Dust is the ideal song to listen to when we need a friendly reminder that life is an infinite cycle of cause and effect. Parker further encapsulates this by using an acoustic guitar for the riff, which he does not often inject into his music production. This further adds a layer of sincerity of his maturity, present in the themes of nostalgia, lost youth and coming-of-age prominent in this album. As Parker best describes it in the chorus; “Although I try, I do say, It stole from us.”

Image 1: Tame Impala performing for The Late Show. Source