Tame Impala - Lonerism

yeah, it's nice but the songwriting isn't very strong and the whole thing gets a bit boring after a while.
I still like "feels" a lot but I don't really listen to the rest anymore.

otm^

I wish they'd commit either going full-on psych or pop. As it stands, it's a bit unsatisfying. I do love a few of the tracks though.

I've only just heard this album, and this band, as of yesterday. It's still registering with me so who knows if I'll change my opinion in a few days/weeks/months. I like it. (Album of the year? No, but it's good.) It sort of scratches the same itch that Unknown Mortal Orchestra did last year. A lot of the comments above I would apply to them too.

Are these guys worth seeing live? They came through town a year or so back and I heard bad things. I could definitely see how they would be dodgy and not so good live. However, I'd be curious to see if they've stepped it up since they're getting more high profile. This stuff could be really interesting live if done right.

Saw them a couple of months ago and I thought it was fine. I was afraid of something like 2 hours of psychedelic nonsense. But yes not everyone liked it.

feels like we only go backwards is a jam

this reminds me of my youth. this is 70s prog-rock. i used to love that kind of stuff. but somehow i can't really take symphonic rock serious anymore.

A Tampa lime.

This has got me going from suspicion to "hmm maybe" to, wow this is really great. Elephant hooked me in - sort of a cross between T-Rex and Canned Heat. But 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards' and the accompanying video has hooked me. There are little moments in that track, particularly the harmony where the guys sings 'Every part of me says go ahead' that I keep wanting to skip back to.

The more I hear these guys the more I feel like they're really a seventies power pop band buried under a bunch of modern psychedelic gloss. That's not a bad thing! But half the time when I hear them I think they're Shoes or something.

dog latin, I had a similar experience. I went from occasionally streaming it on Spotify to buying the album and listening to it at least once daily for the last three weeks. It's great. "Apocalypse Dreams" is my jam at the moment. "Elephant" is great too, and "Keep on Lying."

So, this is basically Olivia Tremor Control for people born after Nevermind came out, mixed with a healthy dollop of Dungen, right?

Not hating on the retromania (been diggin' Unknown Mortal Orchestra a ton, and, err, Uncle Acid), but...I dunno, guys. Gonna give it a second spin. They've certainly done their psychedelic homework, I'll give 'em that.

what's the link with "Nevermind" ?
anyway, I haven't listened to this in a long time... and I don't think I will anytime soon.
basically this album is: a good song + other tracks, for me now.

Two good songs at least - Elephant and FLWOGB. Yes it's retro. It does fit into some sort of continuum that includes Dungen, OTC, White Denim, maybe a bit of Ariel Pink without the cloyingness. I like them when they rock out a bit too. Any "tsk retro" dismissals are pretty lame IMO. I was very suspicious at first, but the guy knows his way around a song when he can be bothered. Pity Lonerism suffers from having far too many aimless drifty bits.

See also "Apocalypse Dreams" - great song.

I was using Nevermind as a barometer of age, as in the people who will dig this most are the people for whom indie music began with, I dunno, Beach House or something. No aesthetic connection implied.

I listened to this back to front the other day and, for the most part, it has held up really well. Fridmann's mixing saves it from being just another retro psych record and takes it to the next level.

I think this may be a case where this has crossed over to a more general public thus making some record nerds angry.

So, this is basically Olivia Tremor Control for people born after Nevermind came out, mixed with a healthy dollop of Dungen, right?

i can see the OTC connection (i'm a fan of OTC) for sure, but tame impala, especially on lonerism, dials down the longish/experimental passages between the poppier stuff.

THERE ALREADY WAS A BAND CALLED POND

Loved this album a year ago (ya'll crazy that there are only one or two good songs on it). Burned out on it, though.

n/a otm

had that phase too (xpost), but i returned to it lately again. most of it is pretty fucking awesome.
Be Above It and Nothing.. are the highlights imo

listened to the whole album last night driving home from a friend's house. i think the drumming is what puts this over the top and separates it from other vaguely retro psych acts.

i think the Rundgren's Wizard/star vibe in the production is what makes it special.

There's something quite strange about the drums:
you can actually feel they were recorded separately from the rest.

also, sometime i'm daydreaming of a good metal cover to Be Above it. someone gotta do it.

that would be sweet. my jam on this album is "why won't they talk to me?" i'd be open to hearing all different sorts of cover versions of that song.

heard this today in the hair salon. good stuff!

upthread matt dc said: "It's kind of a slavish recreation of a sound but they're pretty good at it"

just curious - what sound is that?

The tame impala sound

eh, I think about this album now and then because I work right in front of the garden on the cover !

IFLWOGB and Elephant still pop up on shuffle now and again and I always enjoy them. Don't much care for the rest though.

update !

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127354883@N08/15328528021/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127354883@N08/15328528021/lightbox/

I was listening to some songs again (while taking the pictures) and IFLWOGB is still great.
I can't shake the impression of hearing Lennon, though.
His lost jam session with Pink floyd circa 1967 !

Nowhere near as sonically inventive or as expansive as '67 Floyd. I like them a lot, though. So glad they've eschewed the gigantic Fender reverb on the vox that so many bands use to mitigate lame singing these days. #getoffmylawn

i hate that effect. just sounds so lazy.

the new pond record 'man it feels like space again' is very entertaining. (the TA offshoot, not the pond from portland.)

new single is amazing. a big step up imo

I attempted to get a thread going here: Tame Impala - Forthcoming 3rd LP

I feel bad about taking a dump in your thread. The last third of the new track is actually pretty okay.

Wasn't sure where to post this, but how was that Melody's Echo Chamber EP so slept on this year? It's gorgeous.

more than The Beatles, the album reminds me of Todd Rundgren, esp. the wizard, true star record

― nostormo, Friday, October 19, 2012 6:05 PM (five years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^this. the one-man studio jams to the drum sound to the warmly layered analog keys & synths & vocals in places). the instrumentation/arrangements/production makes me think of "Tic Tic Tic, It Wears Off" or the psych-soul of "When the Shit Hits the Fan/Sunset Boulevard". the bass playing is real cool and it really nails that 70s studio aesthetic. none of the songs stick out too much except "Elephant. kind of a horror glam rock song, more like T-Rex. it's incredible but sounds like it's from a totally different album lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6CZTDCb7g4

I am relistening to this today and Keep On Lying really stood out before Elephant. I agree with the person who said that the fuzzy synths are the best thing about this album. Whatever the exact combination of influences is, the sound is great.