‘Lonerism’, the second full length album by Australian artist Tame Impala, is one of the most influential records of the current psych music scene and sure to leave a lasting impression on this generation and beyond. This album holds a large spot in our hearts here at Flare Street and greatly deserves this months spotlight!
Kevin Parker, mastermind of this one man show, was born in Sydney and raised in Perth, Aus. He was brought up listening to a lot of the music he draws influence from and was a drummer for two bands, including fellow Australian psych band Pond (check them out too!!), before he gained notoriety with Tame Impala.
Kevin Parker writes, records, performs and produces all his own music. He has also collaborated with and produced countless songs, and albums with a wide spectrum of artists including Mark Ronson, Lady Gaga and even Mick Jagger.
Tame Impala’s first full album, ‘Innerspeaker’ was released in 2010 after a slightly lesser-known self-titled EP which was released in 2008. These two works are clearly, heavily influenced by some of our favorite psych, rock and pop artists of years past like the Beatles, Supertramp and Todd Rundgren. As well as more modern influences like Swedish psychedelic rock band, Dungen.
With ‘Lonerism’, continued the endless imagination of Kevin Parker. The album features endless experimentation with guitar, vocals and lots and lots of synthesizer. The album’s running theme is isolation, hence the title and album cover. Though, of course it would not be made possible without touring members of Tame Impala, Dominic Simper, Cam Avery, Julien Barbagallo and Jay Watson who also contributed to two songs on the recorded album.
Lonerism received even more critical acclaim than ‘Innerspeaker’, which really put Tame Impala in the center of the spotlight of pop culture since then.
Even if you have never heard of Tame Impala, chances are you’ve heard some songs off of this album, including ‘Elephant’ which has an intro fit for every event, and ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’, which will really transport you to a dreamy state of mind.
We will never forget the first time we heard Tame Impala. It reminded us of our most favorite aspects of the classics we grew up on and hit the spot for the craving we didn’t even know we had. A true masterpiece of modern psychedelia!
Listen to Tame Impala here:
