Currents is a quite the shift from Tame Impalas previous record, Lonerism. It ditches many of the guitars for more of a psychedelic synth-pop style. This new approach makes the record feel much more sonically dense than Lonerism, which I'm not really latching on to as much (I really liked the spacious atmosphere of Lonerism). I find it slightly impenetrable, as if I can't really get absorbed by the record.
The album opens with its best cut, Let It Happen, a track driven by its thumping, dance-able bass riff. The track goes through multiple phases, one of which where the track chops up like old scratched CDs do, only to do it again and then more frequently until the track bursts out of it with the return of the bass line. The Less I Know The Better has a similar bass line, with Kevin Parker singing some pretty catchy falsetto vocals. I also get a bit of a disco vibe from this track with the strings which float around in the mix in the back half of the song.
Disciples sounds far more similar to Lonerism than anything off this record, being a more guitar driven track. It's such a shame that it is so short, as it has the spaciousness the rest of the album lacks. I feel like Nangs is the best exploration of the synth style, which is also far shorter than it could be. The track is rich in atmosphere, having this wobbling, warbling noises. I also feel it benefits from having no vocals. The vocals across the album are in this heavily processed falsetto style, which works on some tracks, including the aforementioned Let It Happen and The Less I Know The Better, as well as Reality In Motion. However they feel far less dynamic than on Lonerism, just sitting on top of the mix where they used to dart around all over the place.
A friend also brought to my attention that the lyrics feel just a little whiny. While Tame Impala has always had somewhat sad undertones, there are points on this record which verge into self-pity. The worst offender for this is Past Life, a track which has these really cringy pitch-shifted spoken word vocals about a previous partner. The track also has this incredibly bad sounding distortion effect placed on the entire mix at points which really doesn't mix well with the rest of the tune.
Current's is an incredibly made and produced album, but almost too so. Outside of some really great tracks (I mean Let It Happen is phenomenal), it's just too dense for me to really find myself being absorbed by the music. It is still enjoyable to have on in the background and has creative moments in most of the tracks which I appreciate. I can imagine someone else with slightly different tastes digging it a lot more than I did.
Top Tracks: Let It Happen, Nangs, The Moment, The Less I Know The Better, Disciples, Reality In Motion
6/10
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