Tame Impala - "InnerSpeaker" (2010)

After Currents, I moved back through Tame Impala's discography to their debut album, InnerSpeaker. This record is in the same wheelhouse as Lonerism, being a semi-throwback styled psychedelic rock album, as opposed to Currents' weird mix of psychedelic pop, art pop and disco. However their are distinct differences between this and what Kevin Parker would go on to create in Lonerism.

The biggest of these is the use of synths. Here they only play a small part, where they are a dominant force on Lonerism. In their place the guitars show up in full force, with plenty of driving bluesy riffs. These accompanied by some thunderous drumming give the tracks a sense of propulsiveness to them, and are more uptempo than the majority of the tracks on the groups following releases. The vocals are also more simple than on Lonerism. There aren't to many effects placed on them and they tend to sit in one place in the mix from track to track. Kevin Parker also sounds even more like John Lennon on this one.

These contribute to these tracks feeling a lot more straightforward and less dynamic than the groups later work. The tracks don't generally have as many parts to them, and don't radically change-up mid-song. I wouldn't say this a bad thing, however. It creates a different experience which helps the album stand on its own. Where Lonerism feels like an adventure when listening, InnerSpeaker feels like a drive through the countryside, with sunlight shining through the trees.

The lyrical content is also more contempt. Where Lonerism was longing and moody, and Currents' was down right self-pitying; here Kevin Parker seems comfortable being himself. The opening track, It Is Not Meant To Be, discusses this girl Kevin seems interested in but she's not interested in the kind of lifestyle he has, so he just shrugs and says 'it's not meant to be'. Solitude Is Bliss is literally a track about how he enjoys being alone.

While the more simple approach here makes some of the tracks feel a little redundant compared to the best on the record, those best moments are just so damn fun. The aforementioned Solitude Is Bliss is light and airy, and Desire Be Desire Go opens with a energetic guitar line with the main hook of the song following it. Jeremy's Storm is an entirely instrumental cut which ebs and flows just like a real storm and The Bold Arrow Of Time is this sluggish, sludgy, Led Zeppelin-esque riff-monster for one moment then a Pink Floyd infused space rock song the next.

This record is a lot of fun. Lonerism is certainly the more ambitious, more unique release of the two, but this one is just as entertaining in a different way. It's a loud, noisy, psyched out record which never lets you take a moment to breath. It just propels you forward from one track to the next.

Top Tracks: Desire Be, Desire Go, Lucidity, Solitude Is Bliss, Jeremy's Storm, The Bold Arrow Of Time, I Don't Really Mind

8/10