Parker also wanted to expand his sound by collecting, well, actual sounds. Although Fridmann didn’t actually produce any of the music himself, it likely didn’t hurt to have one of the most renowned people in psych-rock on (literal) board. Parker also received some help with Lonerism’s mixing, getting help from the iconic Dave Fridmann, who’s best known for his work with artists like The Flaming Lips and MGMT. The other song Parker wrote with Watson is “Apocalypse Dreams,” a Tame Impala staple that reliably appears toward the end of their live sets. It’s unequivocally the heaviest of the bunch. Out of all 12 tracks, this one would have fit in best on Innerspeaker.
Its stomping, blues-inspired riff belies the more psychedelic, synth-laden material elsewhere on the record. “Elephant,” a song huge enough to get a cover from The Wiggles, is something of an anomaly within the full context of Lonerism. But Lonerism actually has a couple of co-writes with touring drummer and GUM mastermind Jay Watson, and they happen to be some of the most popular tracks from the album.
Even as Tame Impala has ascended the festival-lineup ladder and transitioned from theaters to arenas, Parker still flies solo when it comes to his own records. Lonerism implies just as much on the pure basis of its title. He typically writes, records and produces all of his albums by himself. Parker, despite his ever-growing resume and list of collaborators, is known for working alone. “Back when I was doing Innerspeaker, I felt like I should make an album with only guitars and use no synths because I felt like it was a compromise to what we do,” Parker said.
In an interview at the time of Lonerism’s release, Parker recounted how he was reluctant to embrace synths while making the first record. On Tame Impala’s debut, 2010’s Innerspeaker, he deliberately refrained from using synthesizers because he figured Tame Impala was a guitar band. Although 2015’s Currents was Parker’s first real foray into making pop music, Lonerism, now 10 years old, set the stage.Ĭurrents may often get pegged as the album where Parker most prominently used synthesizers, but Lonerism marked the beginning stages of his infatuation with them. Still, it’s strange to think that the same man who wrote songs like “Runway, Houses, City, Clouds” and “Solitude Is Bliss” would headline Coachella in 2019 alongside Ariana Grande and Childish Gambino (who happens to be a big fan). But how does a rock band even get as big as Tame Impala these days? Some collaborations with A$AP Rocky and Lady Gaga certainly helped, and polymath Kevin Parker’s disco-leaning fourth record, The Slow Rush, earned him a spot in the pop pantheon in 2020. Tame Impala is one of the biggest rock bands in the world right now.
0 kommentar(er)
