Vinyl of the Week - 30 May 2021

Currents, Tame Impala

I was hanging out with my daughter today and made the comment that I wasn’t sure what to pick this week. I asked her what album from her collection was a favourite and she immediately pointed to this one. Currents is Tame Impala’s third album, recorded in Fremantle WA at the home studio of primary member Kevin Parker. Parker wanted to take things in a different direction to previous albums, moving away from psychedelic rock to a more dance-orientated sound. The themes throughout Currents are certainly influenced by the transition in Parker’s own life at the time, having just broken up with his girlfriend and returning to Australia from Paris. Parker worked day and night to achieve his vision for the record and the hard work paid off - when Currents was released in 2015 it received widespread critical acclaim. And what a brilliant piece of work it is, testament to Parker’s incredible talent and attention to detail. Writing, recording, performing and producing the album on his own, he admits it became an obsession to the point that it’s intended release was two months late due to his “finishing touches”. Where he did collaborate was the cover art. This was created by Kentucky based artist & musician Robert Beatty. It depicts a graphic illustration of vortex shedding, the oscillating flow and turbulence created when an object has air or fluid passing around it, which is what Parker told Beatty came to mind when he visualised the music. I totally agree with my daughter on this one, Currents is quickly becoming one of my favourite albums too - DS