by Ryan Diaz
Kevin Parker, also known as Tame Impala, dropped a scorching album on Oct. 17 featuring his true display of artistic expertise, hitting the global stages as his tour began Oct. 27 in New York City.
Parker has not released an album in five years, half of a decade since we’ve had a full release from the Tame Impala. Think back for a moment to just weeks right before the COVID-19 pandemic began — does that feel like forever ago to you? It feels like centuries ago to me. So, buckle up as we drive down this road that is Deadbeat.
Rising to prominence in the mid-2010s, Parker’s album Currents dropped in the summer of 2015. It featured hit songs many can recognize, like New Person, Same Old Mistakes, The Less I Know The Better and Eventually, to name a few.
The intricacies of Deadbeat is a true exhibition. This album speaks to millions of people, including myself. According to Billboard 200, Parker’s album ranks fourth on the charts as of Oct. 30. The first song My Old Ways feels like a look over your shoulder into the past and embracing it. The song starts with a slow roll, then a sudden beat shift goes into the themes of falling back into temptations, human nature, sliding back into our old ways and the uncomfortable yet comforting feeling brought on by rescinding backwards. That’s how I interpret it, anyway.
Dracula is yet another banger in this album, a song initially released slightly earlier than the full album. I’ve been anticipating this release for months, so when we got Dracula early, I listened to it at every chance I had. Dracula dropped just in time for Halloween, and is about running from the sun, like Dracula does. This reflects a way to run from reality, fitting for Halloween, when people can escape and be whoever they want.
Oblivion is an absolute winner, likely my favorite song on this album. Oblivion has great vocals, good lyrics and tells a story of acceptance. Accepting the reality of the bitter end of a relationship — something we all experience in this life, yet always feel the familiar emotional toll of grief. The song is the acceptance of the loss and choosing of Oblivion, with lyrics like, “If I don’t get to you, my love, then I choose oblivion.” This song transcends me to a tesseract in the fourth dimension, where you can hear colors and taste sound as you observe the passage of time. Not absolute, but relative.
I am a huge Tame Impala fan and have been for years. I feel like there are very few artists and songs you can listen to and truly never get sick of. Parker perfectly captures every lyric, every pause, every beat, every minute detail, intricately painting a picture of a broader story, theme or concept. Parker knows how to create his own genre of music unlike any other, a unique portrayal of the human experience, the passage of time and the ethereal connection to a past life.
Ryan Diaz is a senior at Cal Poly Humboldt and a second-semester reporter with an ambition to work in the public relations field after graduation. He is also a DJ on KRFH 105.1 FM and krfh.net, hosting a weekly show on Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m..
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