Currents, by Tame Impala, was released on July 17, 2015. Shortly after releasing his sophomore album, Lonerism, Tame began working on Currents. He stayed at his home studio in Australia writing, recording, and mixing the album all on his own. Tame wrote Currents to be more of an album that was dance-able with heavy synthesizers, in contrast to his past “psychedelic” albums, Innerspeaker and Lonerism. Currents hit number one in the charts in Australia, number three in the United Kingdom, and Fourth in the US. He later won Album of the Year at the ARIA Music Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. The album contains 13 songs and runs for about 50 minutes. Does Tame succeed in his attempts to make dance-oriented music in this album?
Yes, he does.
Introduction
Currents is an amazing third album for Tame Impala. It follows up Lonerism and takes it beyond what he was expected to create. He makes sure that each song had its own vibe, but still felt as though it was an album with synthesizers and drums. It is extremely impressive to think that he recorded each instrument on his own and mixed them all together. His vocals blend extremely well with the beat, along with his lyrics. Even though the songs might be very upbeat, the lyrics and their impact go deep. Let’s take a close look at Tame Impala’s masterpiece of an album.
Production
Kevin Parker did an amazing job producing this album. He built the album from scraps and joined together multiple different instrument parts, such as synthesizers. The album feels like pop with some R&B added into it. The two genre’s blend well to really bring this album together. Everything sounds like it is supposed to be there, from the drums to the unique synthesizers. Putting his career on the line for this album, he produced it entirely by himself, as I had said, and he did it all from his own home studio. Furthermore, he thought over every single detail almost to perfection, just to save his reputation as a musician. Tame said he spent countless hours engrossing himself in his music to make sure everything was the way he liked it, cementing an astronomical job creating this album.
Vocal Performance
With the production, Tame Impala brings this album together with his smooth vocals. Since the music is very upbeat, you would expect an upbeat singer; however, not in the case of Tame Impala, where he takes a calmer and whispery take to it. You can hear the tension between the two different pieces; however, in a way it connects them. His hush tone adds dramatics to the loud synthesizers, and his background vocals just adds more depth to it. His lyrics and pure emotion seen through the lyricism and notation, showcases his story rather than just the media’s image of his breakup and post situation. Tame’s vocals highlight the instrumentals in just the right places.
Meaning
Currents is entirely about change and moving on. Tame wrote this album after he broke up with his girlfriend, Melody Prochet, and he highlights the thoughts and feelings he had during that time period. He sings of wanting to change and become a better person while still missing his past relationship. Moving forward, he sings of “letting it happen” and that time will come when he is healed and ready to be a new person in a new life. He illustrates the thoughts of letting go and moving forward with pieces of you that are still left behind. He begins the album with a breakup and ends it with acceptance of an optimistic future. Tame brings emotionally heavy lyrics to an upbeat album to create an environment that people can relate to and feel understood.
Conclusion
Currents was a thrilling follow up to Tame’s albums, in which I believe that this is his best album. He packed the album with heavy pop and R&B themes, with drums and synthesizers, and sold it all together with his hush, yet deep vocals along with his impactful lyrics which spread meaning throughout the song. The album stands at a 9.2/10 on my scale.
Strongest Track: It was extraordinarily tough to choose the strongest track, but I went with my heart and decided that “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” is the track. The meaning of becoming a whole new person and changing, while still having pieces from your old self, pairs so well with the vibe of the song.
Weakest Track: It was extremely difficult to choose the weakest track, because there is no real bad track on this album; however, I don’t think “Gossip” does that much for this album. Yes, it is a great instrumental and the song’s amazing, but it is less than a minute and is purely an instrumental. It doesn’t have any meaning on the top layer of the track.
Song Rankings:
- “New Person, Same Old Mistakes”
- “Let It Happen”
- “Past Life”
- “The Less I Know The Better”
- “Eventually”
- “Love/Paranoia”
- “Nangs”
- “The Moment”
- “‘Cause I’m A Man”
- “Yes I’m Changing”
- “Disciples”
- “Reality in Motion”
- “Gossip”
Final Notes
Song rankings are always subject to change over time, so don’t take these too to heart. They also are just my opinion. With that being said, I would love to hear your opinions, so leave them in the comment section below. We also suggest subscribing to our blog. To do so, go under the tab “Contact” and fill out the form. That will allow you to receive emails of new blogs and maybe get them ahead of time. Finally, go give Currents a listen for yourself, as I recommend this album to anyone who enjoys Tame’s music and a pop & R&B mix.