Tame Impala’s first new music since 2020’s The Slow Rush, “End Of Summer” – with its arpeggiated synths and pulsing kick drum – promised hands-in-the-air, dancefloor euphoria. Although this first taste of Deadbeat is sonically bombastic, its melancholy, heartsick lyrics ache with regret: “Everybody knows how I feel about you/ You can act surprised if you need to… I waited ‘til the end of summer and I ran out of time.”
The Beck-referencing “Loser” (“I’m a loser, babe…”), featuring a loping pace and sporadic bleeps, dropped next.
Then came “Dracula” – a Giorgio Moroder/Bee Gees hybrid that reminded us of Parker’s production work on Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism.
No one captures pure bliss quite like Parker (see: the “AH-Ah-ah-Ah-AAAAAAH!”s that open “Dracula” – celestial harmonies fit to usher souls through The Pearly Gates). “Now I’m Mr Charisma, fuckin’ Pablo Escobar/ My friends are saying, ‘Shut up, Kevin, just get in the car’…” – Parker also shamelessly leans into lyrical self-reflection here, which isn’t like him at all.
So are any of these singles indicative of Deadbeat’s overall tone? Not really, no. Tame Impala’s fifth album is unlike anything Parker’s musical moniker has released to date. More consistent in emotional tone than his previous records, Deadbeat finds club-friendly techno nestled amongst sparser, more minimal creations.
Album opener “My Old Ways” commences with plonky, wonky piano, before Parker’s trademark wistful vocals enter: “So, here I am once again, feelin’ all blue/ I must be out of excuses, knew I would…” Around the one-minute mark, rich instrumental detail – including bass, drums and hi-hats – kick in. “I know what’s coming, it’s so shocking/ Always fucking up with something/ Slowly swapping down to stopping/ Barely coping…” – tension bubbles beneath the bridge, like intrusive thoughts spiralling outta control (albethey sweetly sung, layered harmonies). The endless cycle of succumbing to temptation, resetting and vowing to do better, but then repeating the behaviour – ad infinitum – is explored here.
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We get a sense that music has already propelled Parker way beyond his wildest imaginings. So how’s the view from the top? He must feel constant pressure to surpass Tame Impala’s previous output, right? To Parker’s credit, he certainly seems allergic to staying in the same musical lane.
Parker has said that “Not My World” – Deadbeat’s centrepiece, track six of 12 – comes close to being this record’s original mission statement. Built from a throbbing, percolating beat with crisp fingersnap accents, this one sizzles with anticipation – like bopping and grinning while waiting for the drop. Lyrics only adorn a few segments of this song.
Elsewhere, the plucky, reverberating synth stabs in “Piece Of Heaven” bring Enya’s “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” to mind. “Singing, ‘Life, oh, life,’ with our arms out widе” – “No Reply” namechecks Des’ree’s “Life”. During “Obsolete”, we hear a doorbell chime before a female voice hesitates, “Oh, hey, I wasn’t expecting you”.
Resplendent with its relentless, banging beat, “Ethereal Connection” is bush-doof ready: “Take a ride/ Say goodbye…” – Underworld remix, please?
Parker penned all of Deadbeat’s tracks, three of which – Dracula, Oblivion and Afterthought – are Sarah Aarons co-writes.
Song structures are loose. The space between beats spotlight personal lyrics, which reveal more about the man behind the music than we’re accustomed to being privy to (eg. “I just want to seem like a normal guy”).
For Deadbeat, Parker seems to have abandoned his quest for perfection in favour of pulling on threads of inspiration, then rolling about and luxuriating in whatever unravels. Nothing’s off limits or overbaked, Parker just lets his freak flag guide him.
