Tame Impala

As I stood in the crowd with the rest of the Shaky Knees festival folk, waiting for Tame Impala to hit the stage, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had heard of them before, I had never listened to them, but since it was the only show happening, it was the last show of the festival, and the person I was with highly suggested them, I stood there anxiously waiting for the Aussies to take the stage. And they were awesome! I won't say they were mind blowing, because I honestly didn't know what I was watching. I mean, it was incredible, but it was the first time I had heard most of the songs, so I couldn't fully appreciate what I was hearing.
How I wish I could go back and re-live that show now.
About a month or two ago, I finally bought their first two albums. Currents, Kevin Parker's third installment as Tame Impala was just about to come out at this point and I kept hearing and reading nothing but excited anticipation about it.
As I put in the first album, called Innerspeaker, and the song, "It Is Not Meant To Be" came rushing at me, I knew this band was going to be important to me. And I didn't take that album out of my CD player for the next month. Literally. I think I only took it out because Currents finally came out. That was about a month ago now, and I just now took it out because the new Maccabees came out. Priorities.
I was never one for classic rock, always sort of associating it with the 80's music they play on the radio station. I failed to remember that classic rock was from the 60's and 70's too, and the sounds of bands like Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd, I'm actually pretty fond of. Innerspeaker has a new wave Led Zepplin stadium sound that you have to turn up loud. The first time I heard of them, they were described to me as psychadelic rock, and that is the only way I would phrase the sound of their first two albums as well.
With many songs sounding like they're from another era, there are also songs that just rock. A few come off very Black Keys-esque, while others surrender more of a slow jam or groove that builds and fades throughout the songs. A few even remind me of late Beatles. And the most amazing part of listening to it, is knowing that Kevin Parker is playing everything that you're hearing. He produces his own albums too, but tours with a full band who make sure to sound even better than the album does.
After being obsessed with Innerspeaker and Currents, I never really got a chance to get into the second album, Lonerism. And although it's still a gem of an album, it's just not quite as memorable as the first or third. However, the songs "Elephant" and "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards," from that album, were probably the most famous songs before the latest album came out and "Let It Happen" came into our lives.
So let me talk about Currents. I'm not gonna lie, after it got all of the hype it got from literally everyone, upon my first listen, I honestly wasn't that impressed. "Let It Happen" was good, it had a very strange movement in the middle where it sounds like a record getting stuck, that I wasn't too fond of at first, and the album was darker and much more R&B, and I was disappointed. However, I didn't give up on it. I can get funky fresh, and that's just what the album turned out to be. And once I accepted that this album was in fact, not Innerspeaker, (and why the heck would I want it to be??), boom, obsessed again.  "Let It Happen," the disco driven single and first track is 8 minutes long, but you never want it to end. And the rest of the album follows suit. The fourth track, "Yes, I'm Changing," never fails to make me tear up (for reasons, all of the reasons), and the next track, "Eventually" starts out with such a bang, I always get music video face to it as well.
My new favorite track at the moment is the funky, "The Less I Know The Better." If there is a song that you should go listen to right now, it's that one. Just try not to dance to that bass line. It makes my life.
They are the band I tell everyone about, and I wish I could share my love for them with the person who introduced me to them, and made me see them at Shaky Knees, but that's neither here nor there. If there is a band you should check out this week, check out Tame Impala. You will not regret it.

Songs that are groovy baby, yeah:

It Is Not Meant To Be
Desire Be, Desire Go


Solitude Is Bliss
Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
Elephant
Let It Happen
Yes I'm Changing
Eventually
The Less I Know The Better
'Cause I'm A Man

"But baby, now there's nothing left that I can do, so don't be blue, there is another future waiting there for you."

Tokyo Police Club

So, I looked. And I have not written a post about Tokyo Police Club yet. Which is absolute blasphemy. Who am I and what am I doing with my life? Oh yeah, getting a new job that's what! Sorry it's been awhile folks, just finished the first week at my new gig. A publishing company called Elsevier that I am just loving so much. It's awesome sauce. But enough about me, back to my favorite four Canadians! Besides Mucca Sorenson from whom I get my Canadian love/blood from. She was the ultimate Canadian. Enough about Canada! (But I gotta represent my 25%!)
I found TPC in a rather round-a-bout way. Their song "Nature of the Experiment" came on a compilation album called Canadian Blast, I kid you not, from I believe the delightful people who bring you Q magazine. This was a long time ago. Right when they were just starting out, and their rollicking 7 song album A Lesson In Crime, all about robots taking over the world, was just what 16 year old me wanted to hear all day every day. Literally. I love that album so much. It's only 15 minutes long. There is no excuse, go listen to it right now. (My favorite part is how they sing about it being 2009 as the year the robot apocalypse takes place.)
Pretty soon after, their second album Elephant Shell dropped and if possible I loved it even more. To this day it is one of my top 10 favorite albums. A great go to, for me, it's nostalgic and relevant at the same time, reminding me of rainy high school/college days and being so excited about discovering new music. I'm listening to it right now and it never fails to put me in a good mood. "In A Cave," one of my favorite TPC songs ever, gives you obscure images of traveling, wearing elephant skin, and growing up backwards, Benjamin Button style. Visuals so bizarre that I just loved them for their obscurity. "Nursery, Academy," which is about being in an insane asylum, I'm pretty sure, (Dave, if not, correct me on that one) is a great song nonetheless. And even though the lyrics are out there, the music is catchy and upbeat. The album flows together nicely and is short enough to listen to all at once and not get bored or overwhelmed, "Tesselate" and "Your English Is Good" being the most accessible songs. Although not necessarily my favorites from the album, they are usually my choice if I'm making a mix for someone. And while TPC have two other albums, Elephant Shell will forever be my favorite.
So, taking a stroll through Best Buy, yes, this was when Best Buy actually had music, and not just that, good music, I suddenly came across Champ, the third album by Tokyo Police Club. Now this was the days before social media was really that much of a thing that I cared about, so I had no idea that this album existed. It was like Christmas day. And while I wasn't as taken with it as I was with Elephant Shell, there are some gems on that album. Take the song "Bambi," for instance. Whatever kind of effect they use on that song, I want it in my life all the time. I cannot listen to that song while I'm walking, I get my music video face on and that just can't happen in public places. The album, not quite as pop-y or catchy as the former, is quite possibly more put together. Ideas come full circle and songs even blend together, the sound staying very similar to the gloriousness of their second LP. It's not an album I usually listen to, but when I do, I'm always glad I did, and I'm always surprised by it. I forget how good it is. I think that's the only difference, it's not quite as memorable as Elephant Shell. But it is still a very good, solid album.

A few sad, silent years went by and somewhat recently the boys released their fourth and latest album Forcefield, which is sort of like Tokyo Police Club on steroids. It's bigger, louder, more intricate, more produced, more put together, more electronic and pretty freaking awesome. The 8-minute opener, "Argentina (Parts I, II, III)" rolls through movements of sound, almost like a symphony, leading right into the simple, summer song, "Hot Tonight." My favorites, well, no, the whole album is good. It's definitely different from the indie rock sound that their first three albums perfected, but as times have changed and music has changed, especially in the indie rock scene, they made their transition into the pop/electronic groove smooth and admirable. But I'm a sucker for a pop hook and anything TPC does, so there might be some bias there...now just to see them live!!
Dave, since you liked my tweet about my last post that was about your solo album, and obvi since we're besties now, can you and the boys please come to Missouri? I would love you forever. Oh wait, I already do.

Songs That I Get Music Video Face To:
Nature of The Experiment
I wanted to try to list the songs from Elephant Shell, but I literally can't decide. Just listen to the whole thing.
Breakneck Speed
Bambi
Gone
Frankenstein
Miserable
Tunnel Vision
Through the Wire

"All my hair grows in, wrinkles leave my skin, but still, don't fade, I'll be back again when the tide is in some day."