Expression is a vehicle for creative minds to deal with the effects of being inexplicably inspired by, and infatuated with, a piece of the world. That’s exactly what Tame Impala’s 2012 Album Lonerism did to me. The album, a solo effort in the studio up until the final mixes and masters by Perth-native Kevin Parker, is a 51 minute testament to pushing modern studio production into new territories by exploring previously established ones, writing pop music in a rock idiom, and at its core, manipulation. Kevin Parker, who back then had just come out of his debut album under Tame Impala, Innerspeaker, was critically and popularly acclaimed and became the leading mind in the neo-psychedelic realm with his classically phased-out guitar riffs, Lennon-esque voice, and crunchy 70’s-alluding drums. Following up a debut album like Innerspeaker is no easy task. Parker, dubbed a “perfectionist”, had to battle an inner musical conflict with this external pressure he was feeling after his debut album. He became known for showing guitar-centric psychedelic rock still had a place in the world and room for innovation, though on the inside he became infatuated with and “wanted to make pop music”. Perhaps his perfectionism worked in his favor when making Lonerism; he admits “when Lonerism came out, I thought it was a pop album,” further admitting that he produced this “pop music” in a psychedelic fashion in reaction to his self-consciousness in regards to his pop tendencies. This inner tension that was inside of Parker, paired with the lack of an external force like a producer or editor of content in the production process, allowed for an uninterrupted flow from artist to art like no other.
The reason I stated manipulation at the core of this album is the same reason I fell in love with this album in the first place. Parker’s ability to manipulate the field of sonic possibilities is nothing short of prolific; every song on the album has specific examples of this. There are some specific standouts like the opening track, “Be Above It,” particularly the way the vocal pattern matches the drum beat at the beginning almost as if the drums are speaking to you. Or even in other musical aspects like in “Keep On Lying,” where the music itself begins to duck out and you hear faint, echoed conversations. Parker says this, meant to portray a trippy dinner conversation, evokes “alienation” in the listener, tying into the thematic content of being a loner (i.e. Lonerism).
Knowing the struggle rooted in Parker’s perfectionism, knowing the intentions behind the album, I’m always still left baffled at Parker’s ability to excel in creating psychedelic imagery with sound. He’s cited saying he wanted to make something that sounded like “Brittany Spears singing over the Flaming Lips” on Lonerism, yet I think in terms of production, at least, there really is nothing to compare it to. There’s something about his production style that is so visceral and alive. Though some pin this on his songwriting, or even instrumentation/arrangement, I remain that it is solely tied to his production. Take “Daffodils” on Mark Ronson’s Uptown Special, a song written by Parker which sounds like it could have been on a Tame Impala album, yet produced by Ronson. In short, doesn’t have anywhere near the same effect as Parker’s own productions have. I always say I can “almost taste” the chewy phasers on the guitars like rainbow gum drums. You can feel the transient on the drums cut through the mix and tap your brain, almost as if they’re invading your personal headspace and telling you to wake up. All while the synths hit you like 12 wavy light sabers of coming at you from all dimensions to land at a specific point in your perceivable stereo spectrum. These qualities of sound manipulation are what have made me pursue music production; I want to make others feel like Kevin Parker can make me feel with his production. And in my pursuit of this goal, I know I’ll live on infatuating myself, and in turn inspiring my pursuits with the slew of Tame Impala music to come, it will be at the expense of Parker’s artistic unrest and fulfillment that his perfectionism is at the root at; it will never allow him to experience his music, the way that I, or anyone that has any sense of admiration for sonic manipulation can experience it.
