It's been nearly five years since the release of Tame Impala's currents, and we finally have a new album! The Slow Rush came out on Valentine's Day 2020 and I gotta say the overall packaging is some of my favorite of Tama Impala's four albums.
There are just such beauty, all the photography, and the layout too! I also really appreciate the choice to continue using the same font as in previous releases. Getting into the music Kevin Parker started recording the album around late 2018 in LA, and he says he thinks of this as his LA album, and to me, that really comes through in the music on this record.
There's something very poppy light fun about it, now thematically the whole record revolves around the idea of time, even down to the cover art which I see as the sands of time. In the roughly four and a half years since the release of currents in 2015, Kevin has really grown up, he's gotten older and he also got married in 2019; which really made him see the big picture of life, sort of thrusting them into a new phase.
He also admits that his albums have gradually gotten more and more personal as he has gained more confidence in what he wants to say.
So, I think those are important things to keep in mind. He's also stated that he wanted the first song to set out a year and the last song to be the last hour of that year, basically asking the question where have we come to, how are we going to go forward from here without losing a sense of self, and so you see that with the opening track named One More Year, and the closing song titled One More Hour.
The other tracks in between all deal with different aspects of time, so in a sense, this is another concept album revolving around time, and so I see the title of the album as being that feeling of time passing as you get older.
Basically, time seems to speed up as you age but, we still have like forty-fifty years of this and so it is sort of a Slow Rush, sort of a snowball effect. So, with all that said let's break this album down track-by-track!
One More Year
I love how it starts out with the title of the song being sung but in a very tripped-out sort of stretched-out way, like being processed through a ton of effects. Musically the beat really drives this track forward, it gives such great shining moments for his voice, keyboards, and other sonic lairs.
I just closed my eyes and all these visuals come into my mind!
Instant Destiny
We have Instant Destiny as the second track, and this song came to him while he was on a new exercise bike, he was literally just zoning out and all of a sudden, he got inspired, left the exercise bike, and then proceeded to write this song.
Musically, I loved the laid-back feeling of it. It sort of has this blissful romp which I think really relates to the subject of the song. Kevin says it's about being in love and feeling fearless sort of diving into the unknown. About 3/4 of the way into the song we get this amazing synth breakdown that really reminds me of his work on Currents.
Borderline
We have Borderline as the 3rd track, and as many of you know this is a new version of the song, and basically, he brought the bass up, he felt like no one was hearing it, and, oh my gosh now you really hear it in the mix more! And I think it's for the better!
I love the use of a pan flute throughout this track, and to me, it really gets to the core idea of this song, which is being on the edge of the unknown, sort of this you're about to step off and have an adventure, and that sounds like the adventure begins.
Posthumous Forgiveness
Next, we have Posthumous Forgiveness, and this is about Kevin's deceased father. Realizing why he acted the way he did when Kevin was a kid, and the music reflects this with a heaviness almost getting into Phantom of the Opera territory. The instrumental section is just this blaring sense for a few measures before the drums kick back in and, just peeing my eardrums, they have this hint of a digital skip almost like on the song Let It Happen.
The second part is the relief, the sunshine after the rain, this is the forgiveness! In the title this is Kevin grown up, maybe realizing why his dad acted the way he did. Musically this section is more laid-back drum-heavy, but with delicate guitar warm.
Breathe Deeper
Moving onto the next track - we have to Breathe Deeper. Now, overall musically the piano work and tone leading into and during the chorus just kills me! It sounds so good, I love the hypnotic repeating lyric, I can feel there that becomes like a mantra, and it just becomes this very hypnotic resuscitation that I just love, how rhythmic it is!
It almost doesn't even have a melody, I mean it does but it's almost more rhythmic, poetically the little intro snippet reminds me of early Tame Impala, but then overtaking it, it is this very 90s house melody. I feel like I heard it on The Fatboy Slim Collection back in the days, but I love this sort of sonic tension that it adds. Overall, it's got this, and the song has three different moments and I love the manic feeling about it.
It's almost like trains of thought keep getting interrupted.
Tomorrows Dust
Alright running forward, we have Tomorrow's Dust, and this has a beautiful acoustic guitar throughout, and there's like a fragility about the plan that really relates back to the idea of the fleeting nature of present time, also with the guitar there's some fantastic use of congas that's sort of creating this steady rhythm throughout the song.
On top of which you get these many layers of Tame Impala sounds you already know. These fuzzy basses and fuzzy guitars in the middle just it's all a very glorious tapestry of sound! I just love the mix of electronic and organic instruments, it's like traveling through space and these elements fly by hanging out for a little bit and then they move on.
The whole song feels like it's in constant motion until the instrumental breakdown, and we get this gorgeous sense just sort of overtaking my eardrums.
On Track
Next up, we have On Track, and this is our first ballad of the whole record, he was inspired by super and a little bit of meatloaf when he wrote this song. I love the use of the flanger effect throughout the chorus, it makes it feel as if the music is flying all around me.
Lost in Yesterday
The next track is Lost In Yesterday. The bass and drums make this song awesome! Some great effects are being applied to the drums that make them sound cosmic, also helping is the addition of these little laser sound effects which is interesting, because he originally intended this to be more of an electronic sound more of an eighties song, I can hear remnants of that.
I think that also plays into the theme of this song, about how nostalgia is a drug that we can get addicted to.
Is it Ture
Next, We have Is It True. This has what I can only describe as jungle drums and a bit of a Daft Punk vibe, both of which I absolutely adore! Again the bass and drums make this track for me, and it's the repeating title in the chorus that really is an ear warmer, it just keeps me wanting to hear this song over and over again, and the shifting gears for the outro to a more jazzy spacey vibe is also great! It also makes this song more interesting.
It Might Be Time
Moving it on the side, we have It might Be Time. It opens with these amazing keyboards that just have this fantastic tone, you just start to do some action (at least I do) and I'm doing this action because that's what I'm hearing in my head right now!
Then there's this crazy kind of 70s sirens sound like I don't know how else to describe it! That to me gets to kind of the point of this song Kevin knows that he's getting older and things have to change, so you know that relates to the title of the song, It Might Be Time, it might be time to start changing the way of his life! So many fantastic elements are on this song, these are like I said the keyboards the drums are so so good.
Glimmer
The next track is Glimmer, and this is the shortest track on the album. It has almost a 90s dance vibe about it. Kevin says this is about having a glimmer of hope that fleeting feeling of the promise of things might get better, I think this should be the penultimate song before we close the album. It's more of an interlude.
One More Hour
All right flying out the album, we have the best track, One More Hour and this is also the longest song on the record. This is Kevin wearing his heart on his sleeve, it starts off with the piano far away with lots of reverb before the song builds in with some crunch of guitars booming, bass, and fantastic drums.
Again, with the drums when we hit the second verse, the piano is more forward and his voice is actually more drenched in reverb. It's like his inner thoughts but it's the bridge that gives me chills every time! I listen to it, it's like the sonic culmination of the 10 years of Tame Impala all rolled into one the stereo separated drumming, during the last chorus is also fantastic!
It just surrounds me with his thoughts sort of like I'm in Kevin's world right now!
"The Slow Rush" Overall Critiques and Review
I think overall, this album is a natural progression from Currents that was about being in the moment after a breakup, and this is about the next phase in life, moving forward with a partner but also not sure what the future holds.
Currents were also much more sonically experimental; almost as if he needed to go that far in the opposite direction of his previous two albums, to find himself. I think that mirrors what was happening in his personal life too, but now that he's married and obviously established in the music industry, I see this record as coming back to the center, taking everything that he's learned along the way.
It's like he took the drums and groove of "The Less I Know The Better" and expanded it to a whole album, while at the same time picking out tropes from his first record Innerspeaker, I am drenched in this glorious and beautiful scents, but they sometimes overtake the music.
Whereas on this record, there are more organic instruments in the mix, or at least they're more forward on top and his vocals are clearer than ever I understand. Almost everything he's singing without the aid of a lyric sheet, I would say that the one thing that absolutely stands out above everything else is the drums!
They are so much more pronounced than on his previous releases, and I love it from the tone to the use of congas the rhythms are just fantastic! Kevin stated that he explored more rhythms on this album and for me, it totally shows he wasn't afraid to double down on his love of the drums of rhythm, that was his first instrument.
I love this record, every track on here flows to the next and while I also love Currents, especially for the concept and I will always love the fuzz out sike rock of Innnerspeaker and Lonerism, but I know he's not going to go back to that, so those stand on their own and I'm ok with that.
I don't expect The Slow Rush to be a return to that sound, and I know some people have felt like "oh he played it safe or he's not experimenting as much", and I would kinda agree with you, but to me, this sounds like a new Tame Impala, but it also sounds solid and fresh, different, and that's what I really enjoy!
Just like Currents was very different, and I know there are people (me included in the past) who didn't want him to make Currents, they wanted him to make another Lonersim or another Innerspeaker, but he didn't, he made Currents and The Slow Rush!
But again, you know Kevin doing something different and you have to imagine there's such a buildup, there's such anticipation that is not going to please everybody, Kevin knows but he didn't let that stop him from making what he did want to make!
For him, he was exhausted after this release, he puts so much into this, working up for like 24 hours straight, just to get it done. Even pushing the deadline six months, it was originally supposed to come out in the summer of 2019 but it just wasn't ready.
But I'm glad he waited and I think if you are on the fence about this record, or you weren't blown away by it, give it some time!
I feel like you need to let it grow on you (as like any other Tame Impala album). I did the same thing with Currents! There were a few songs I liked on it from 1st listen, but the more I listened to it the more I dove into what he was saying, and what he was trying to craft, I loved it more and more, and so this record is the same thing.
I feel like because I've done a little bit more research while I listen to it, understanding his intention with the music, it's sort of fast-tracked me to understanding the record and enjoying it more, but you know that being said a record should stand on its own and you don't have to know what the artist intended to enjoy it or to not like it.
I think it's fine if you don't like this album, I think it's fine if you find it mediocre or less than what you expected from Kevin, but for me, he did not disappoint, he created something beautiful both sonically and lyrically.
Emotionally is something I can relate to, and I think at the end of the day this is gonna be one of those albums that I'm gonna forever remember from 2020. My experience going down to me buying it waiting in line with other people, who were buying this the very same record on the release date, for me that's all very special memories that I will imbue on this album.
As I continue to listen to it and play it, it's gonna open up like a flower, like a fine bottle of wine, and just it'll start giving off different notes and start hearing different things.
I'll listen to it on headphones and it'll just continue to give back and give back over the years. So, I just say thank you, Kevin, thank you for giving us this another great album! I love it!
Again this is just my first impression, this isn't a full-on review this was just what I think of it two days after the release of the record, but I want to know what you guys have to say, leave a comment let me know what your favorite tracks are!
