Tame Impala: Currents (2x LP) - LP

Tame Impala, the psychedelic-rock project of musician Kevin Parker from Perth, Australia, returns with the successor to their highly acclaimed 2012 album "Lonerism".

Psychedelia master Kevin Parker is set to win over fans with Tame Impala's third studio album, Currents. It has been three years since the release of Lonerism, which featured the hit singles Feels Like We Only Go Backwards and Elephant. However, Kevin pleasantly surprised us in 2014 by collaborating with Mark Ronson on three tracks for his album Uptown Special. Little did we know that work had already begun on one of the most anticipated albums of 2015, scheduled for release on 17 July 2015.

While Kevin established a distinctly psychedelic path with his first two albums, he is not afraid of change. He proved this in late March 2015 with the release of Let It Happen, a 7-minute electronic-psychedelic-dance track. "I wouldn't say my focus is psychedelic music. Tame Impala is about music that has an impact on people," says Kevin.

The first single from Currents is a perfect example. "Let It Happen is about finding yourself in this chaotic world. But it's not easy because so much is going on that you don't want to be a part of. In the end, though, you realise it's easier to just let it happen. Making music is a very spiritual thing. I'm not a spiritual person, but music is sacred to me, and experimentation is how I show my love for all kinds of music." Let It Happen became the opening track of the album, getting everyone moving – even Jamie xx featured it in his DJ set.

Everyone expected Kevin to take us on a journey through his own interpretation of electronic music. Instead, he channelled a reborn Michael Jackson, releasing Cause I'm a Man just a week after Let It Happen. Many have compared the track's atmosphere to his cover of Michael Jackson's Stranger in Moscow. With this release, Kevin confirms that the album seamlessly shifts between genres and moods. Kevin's lyrics are clearer than ever before, briefly causing a stir when he was accused of writing sexist lyrics: "Cause I'm A Man is an intimate track about how we men have no control over ourselves. But even that isn't a great description. I'll leave it to the listeners to interpret. I'm not usually that direct, but that's what I wanted to achieve with this song."

In late April 2015, Kevin took part in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything). When a fan asked if he could share another new track, he released Disciples. This upbeat song feels almost like an interlude, clocking in at under 2 minutes. There was no time to complain, however – just a few days later, we got the fourth track, Eventually, which is the closest to his previous work so far.

In an interview, Kevin mentioned that he thoroughly enjoys keeping the meaning of his songs ambiguous and hearing different interpretations. We can expect more of this on Currents, where Tame Impala pushes experimentation further than ever, yet in a subtle and indirect way. We will have plenty of questions about these tracks, and we might never get the definitive answers. The songs released so far have shown us many different sides to the album, and there are surely many more to discover.