The 10 best songs by Tame Impala
Following the release of 2012’s Lonerism, many dismissed Tame Impala as yet another neo-psychedelic rock outfit determined to resurrect the spirit of Sgt. Pepper. Considering the sheer volume of similar bands on the scene at the time, it was an easy conclusion to draw. However, looking back, it would appear “revivalism” never really captured what Tame Impala were aiming to create.
Looking back at albums in their canon such as Innerspeaker, Lonerism and Currents, it’s pretty obvious that Kevin Parker was looking not only to imbue his songcraft with the aesthetics of the late 1960s psych bomb but to utilise modern sonic sensibilities to give those songs a contemporary edge.
Parker’s ability to look backwards and forwards in the same instance won Tame Impala huge acclaim, with the outfit’s first three albums cementing the Australian as one of the most revered music makers of the 2010s. Considering he played every single instrument on Lonerism and sang every lyric, that enduring reputation is well-deserved.
Kevin Parker’s absolute control over his material has allowed him to craft some of the most meticulous, pioneering and infectious music of recent years. Below, we’ll be doing the impossible and ranking the ten best Tame Impala songs.
The 10 best songs by Tame Impala
10. ‘Is It True’
Tame Impala’s shows are a vital reason they’ve become one of the most in-demand live acts on the planet, and ‘Is It True’ was designed for their concerts. The bass in this Slow Rush track is enough to send the listener into a state of euphoria, and Parker’s production on the song is utterly spellbinding.
The track captures that magic moment in a relationship you want to last forever and bottles it up in a four-minute package. Parker said of ‘Is Is It True’ to Apple Music: “Let’s not talk about the future. We don’t know what it holds. I hope it’s forever, but how do I know? When all is said and done, all you can say is ‘we’ll see.'”
9. ‘Borderline’
Tame Impala needed to make a statement during their debut on Saturday Night Live in 2019, and the world premiere of ‘Borderline’ was a guaranteed way to capture viewers’ attention. During the performance, Parker adlibbed lyrics as the song was yet to reach completion, and it was still majestic.
“Honestly, I believe that I kind of just ran out of time making it,” Parker told Triple J. “I was so in my own head about the song. The way I describe it is the way it sounds now is the way I was hearing it when I released it the first time.” This incident is an example of his perfectionist instincts and offers an answer as to why it takes him so long to make a full-length Tame Impala project. ‘Borderline’ proves that Parker doesn’t need to take such an extended period on each album and seek perfection every time.
8. ‘Eventually’
For many Tame Impala fans, Currents represents the band at the peak of their powers. The album took the band to new commercial heights, and the heartbreaking ‘Eventually’ is a prime cut on the record. On the track, Parker discusses a break-up from the perspective of the one who wants the relationship to end, which is atypical of songs which tackle this topic.
“I find there’s a lot of poetry, art and songs singing about the plight of someone with someone changing in front of them,” explained Parker to The Guardian. “It excited me to tell the story from the other side. Trying to explain that it’s not a bad thing, its just natural.” He added: “‘Eventually’ is a song about someone who knows they’re about to damage someone. They’re not going to be the one experiencing the pain that’s dealt. They’re the one dealing it. Arguably, it’s just as emotionally crippling knowing that you’re gonna do that. It’s just as heavy. It’s just as torturous.”
7. ‘New Person, Same Old Mistakes’
Currents is a masterpiece from start to finish, and Parker needed to wrap up the project in style with the closing track, ‘New Person, Same Old Mistakes’. The six-minute song takes the listener on an emotional rollercoaster as the narrator finds himself tripping up once again despite the new company he keeps and questioning whether he’s the problem.
“That’s the last chapter,” Parker said of the track to NME (via SongFacts). “It’s like the final battle – or the final stand-off between optimism and pessimism. You feel like you’ve evolved into a new person but at the same time you’ve gone full circle. You feel like this brand-new person but in the end nothing’s been changed because you’re making the same mistakes.”
6. ‘Half Full Glass Of Wine’
In their early days, Tame Impala were a completely different outfit to the one that headlines festivals internationally today. During the start of their career, the Australian collective was unashamedly psychedelic and reminiscent of iconic acts from the 1960s. If someone didn’t know better and was only aware of their recent output, it’d be impossible to know this acid-tinged zinger was from Tame Impala’s canon.
Although Tame Impala eventually moved on from this sound, ‘Half Full Glass Of Wine’ survives as a relic of the past and represents an important chapter in their history. While they graduated into new territory, there is still an element of psychedelia on their records. However, this track is a reminder of when their devotion to the cause was fully fledged.
5. ‘Mind Mischief’
The fourth track from Innerspeaker, ‘Mind Mischief’ was a sign of things to come, prophecicising the groove-laden magic of ‘2015’s Currents. While it’s still very much a product of the Lonerism era, you can already feel Parker remoulding his approach.
Like all the best Tame Impala songs, this track benefits from a snappy, syncopated drum arrangement. As Parker explained in an interview with Uncut: “The backbone of Tame Impala has always been a groove. I never wanted to do a song that you couldn’t dance to – or groove to at least, whatever the differences between those things.”
4. ‘The Less I Know The Better’
Described by Parker as “dorky, white-disco funk”, this track from Currents really captures the feeling of being young, dumb and full of…desire for one of your contemporaries. It was released alongside a brilliant video shot starring Spanish actress Laia Manzanares as a cheerleader who sleeps with a member of the basketball and then breaks his heart by hooking up with the team’s gorilla mascot, Trevor. There’s always a Trevor.
‘The Less I Know The Better’ was initially intended for Mark Ronson, who wanted it for his Uptown Special album. Thankfully, Parker decided to keep the track for himself, informing Ronson of this change of heart when they were both in America. In an interview for GQ Australia, Parker explained that the American producer didn’t feel right taking the song anyway. “Oh yeah, dude, I was going to say this song is yours,” he told Parker. “I feel like I’ve stolen your hard drive!”
3. ‘Let It Happen’
The opening track from Currents, ‘Let It Happen’ perfectly encapsulates Parker’s sonic rebirth. Even on a lyrical level, it seems to reflect the producer’s desire to find new forms of expression following the success of Lonerism.
“Lonerism is about always shutting out the outside world,” Parker told NME, “but chapter one of the next story, you realise that at some point there’s so much force around you that to fight it just takes more energy to shut it out. There’s a big undercurrent theme of transition, a transition of the self as a person. It’s about giving in to forces that you can’t control, even though your whole life seems to be wrong.”
2. ‘Feels Like I Only Go Backwards’
This one must be the hookiest number in Tame Impala’s entire catalogue. With that unforgettable burst of analogue fizz, tight-wound bass, and scattered beats, it just oozes confidence. That’s to say nothing of its structural and thematic brilliance.
Almost every aspect of this track links back to the overarching theme of repetition. The very first bar – before the drums have even kicked in – features the sound of a loop unfolding and then circling back on itself four times. Then comes that initial burst of melody, which, somewhat counter-intuitively, also serves as the chorus, adding to the already-pervasive sense that we, the listener, are also caught in a loop. You’re an intelligent man, Kevin. I’ll say that.
1. ‘Elephant’
Buried in the depths of Lonerism, this jewel of a track is our all-time favourite Tame Impala track. Why? Firstly, why not? Secondly, it captures everything that makes Kevin Parker’s approach to composition and production so unique. While that trunk-swinging central riff is firmly rooted in the world of ’70s hard rock, Parker’s production style – his use of brute compression, filters and low-frequency oscillators – means that ‘Elephant’ will always be tied to the era in which it was made.
It’s also one of the best songs in the world to walk to, sitting up there with ‘Come Together’ by The Beatles, ‘Little Green Bag’ by George Baker Selection and ‘Gimme Shelter’ by The Rolling Stones. Don’t believe us? Put it on the next time you leave the house. Then you’ll understand.
