NEWS
EVENTS
Tame Impala Release 'Elephant' Video - Plus Todd Rundgren Remix
Indie | Wednesday 19th September 2012 | Osh
Tame Impala release video for new single Elephant, preceding the release of new album Lonerism.
Tame Impala have been pushing the envelope of “psychedelic groove rock” since their debut album, Innerspeaker, in early 2010. This was one of the most impressive and seismic releases of that year, alongside the likes of The xx and Wild Beasts, who also grabbed the new decade by the scruff of the neck with their excellent debuts.
Innerspeaker came from out of leftfield and ushered in a completely fresh sound, reminiscent of the early Coral releases, when Psychedelia was their bag and Bill-Ryder Jones was the best guitarist in the world, according to Noel Gallagher. Or going further back to early Pink Floyd, when Syd Barrett was the driving creative force, as you can tell on tracks like Interstellar Overdrive.
But it was obvious Tame Impala was something special from the beginning, with tracks like ‘It Is Not Meant To Be’, ‘Alter Ego’ & ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’, which stood in absolute contrast to so much of the uninspiring, generic guitar music that was populating the indie charts at the time.
So brace your solar plexus, that experiential motherboard of the central nervous system, because Tame Impala’s highly-anticipated new work, Lonerism, is going to have you chilled to the core.
The stakes are so much higher now they have a massive following, but if the new single ‘Elephant’ is anything to go by, Tame Impala are not one of those bands that suffer from the dreaded creative funk known as Second-Album syndrome. It simply doesn’t disappoint.
‘Elephant’ touches on themes from the preceding EP, rich with cosmic guitar riffs and dream-like melodies, but there are also indications of an evolution, a new direction, and new motifs, which have never been touched upon before.
Using the same old formula on the second album can leave even the most die-hard fans totally unmoved. This reaction is far worse than complete hatred or apoplectic rage in many ways. Music is emotive after all, it causes a myriad of responses in the body, physical and emotional.
If there is a disconnect here, if people literally don’t care on this most basic of levels, there wouldn't be any point would there?
But 'Elephant' is not the swan-song of a faltering four-piece. This is a pile-driver of an opening track, attention grabbing, upbeat and euphoric. It delivers on all fronts.
Even the video is top notch. Directed by artist Yoshi Sodeoka and featuring live footage shot by The Silentlights.
There is also a special bonus floating around online in the wake of the new video, as the Godfather of psych-pop Todd Rundgren himself, has shared his own remix of the track. This is a rare event indeed, as Lundgren is usually skittish about sharing remixes, with only one previous release in the past (Deja Vu).
Listen to the cosmic Todd Rundgren remix of ‘Elephant’ here
'Lonerism' hits stores October 5th (AUS), October 8th (UK), October 9th (USA) on Modular Recordings.
Words by Martin Higgins. www.mhfreelance.co.uk
