Album Review : Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
- Written by Jiten Karia
When you first sit down to Innerspeaker, it’s not advisable to drive or operate any heavy machinery for an hour or so as you’ll likely be awash in a musically-induced euphoric high. Drawing influence equally from The Beatles and Cream (amongst hints of British music of latter decades), the Perth trio Tame Impala serve up an accomplished example of modern day psychedelica that will simultaneously chill spines and liquefy thoughts.
Right off the opening track ‘It Is Not Meant To Be’, Tame Impala capture the drug-addled essence of the 60s and 70s with guitars that lead ears past normal aural boundaries and drums that tether you to conscious planes with hypnotically precise rhythms. Indeed, a passing listener could easily mistake this album for some classic stoner record from last century. After all, the effects used on the vocals and guitars give a dated sound, verging on an almost-underwater feel to large parts of some tracks.
In many ways, Innerspeaker could be regarded as a throwback to the golden era of rock and roll. The production and sound give off a very hippie-esque vibe and some tracks, including ‘Jeremy’s Storm’ and ‘I Don’t Really Mind’, feel like they could descend into epic hour-long jams as the guitars and vocals meander away from the constraints of a typical song structure.
Saying that, the entire album often feels like it flows into itself with little to no stoppage in between. This, on one hand, makes it a delight to listen through as a whole. However, with very few stand out tracks (‘Lucidity’ and ‘Bold Arrow Of Time’ being the exceptions), it can be difficult to listen to it in fragments. Getting lost in the twelve songs is part of the experience whilst listening to Tame Impala and attempting to jump into Innerspeaker part-way through is a little like expecting to understand Donnie Darko (or Inception based on preference) mid-movie, and especially if you haven’t seen it through a few times before.
Naturally though, there is a lead single in the shape of ‘Solitude Is Bliss’. Swathed in lashings of wah-wah, it does an adequate job of encapsulating the band’s sound for any passing listeners, but as it’s standalone, you never quite get the same feeling, and therein lies the problem.
Tame Impala have created a stunner of a debut, but it only works as a whole. Granted, this is ideal for fans of real music, there may be a problem in engaging those who flick over it as yet another psychedelica album. One track may not grab their attention, but should Innerspeaker get the patience and time it deserves there will be the realisation that it is amongst the best rock albums of this year.