Tame Impala continue to tease return with ‘Loser’
Some people might say that Tame Impala is far from the project it used to be, and that it has lost sight of its origins.
The thing is, as time moves on, so do we as people, and for Kevin Parker, this has meant he’s been able to go through something of an artistic revolution. People may be disappointed by the idea that the Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer isn’t still churning out psych-rock masterpieces like Innerspeaker or Lonerism, but that ought to have been clear around a decade ago when he released Currents.
There were still fragments of the psychedelic beginnings lingering on this album, but for the most part, things had begun to veer towards a stronger focus on Parker’s infatuation with pop and dance music. His collaborations with other artists in this field had a dramatic influence on his own output under the Tame Impala moniker, whether that be with major pop acts like Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa, or through working alongside French house legends Justice.
The thing is, for all of the drastic reinventions of the project’s sound, Currents was still littered with slices of Parker’s genius as a songwriter and producer, and didn’t hold back from showcasing his ambitious nature, albeit in a different style. Follow-up album The Slow Rush felt like a slight step back in this regard, and has been criticised for playing things too safe, and with the latest single from a presumed fifth LP, we’re given a track that feels like it edges a little too close to safety once again.
Comeback single ‘End of Summer’ was another left-turn in Parker’s sound, where he fully embraced acid house and EDM influences over the course of a warping seven-minute beast. His latest single, ‘Loser’, plods along with its hands in its pockets, too afraid to take a similar risk and dazzle fans with something that feels like it’s pushing boundaries. It’s by no means a bad song, but the squelching synth-funk unfortunately doesn’t have quite the same impact.
Where the song does excel is in the production, which has arguably always been Parker’s strongest suit as a creative. There are some occasional flourishes in the synths, which change voicing frequently throughout the song, and the guitar and bass both have a distinct Latin American flavour to them, which is another exciting addition to Parker’s list of styles he’s experimented with. Some occasional diversions from the chord sequence that provides the backbone to the song are also dazzling, but for the most part, there isn’t quite enough done to really have the same impact.
Given how ‘End of Summer’ and ‘Loser’ are chalk and cheese when compared with each other, the forthcoming album could potentially showcase a whole range of new elements that would signify the dawn of another new era for Tame Impala, but unfortunately, ‘Loser’ doesn’t quite land enough of a killer blow for it to drum up any additional excitement. It’s good, but you feel as though there could have been a stronger single.
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