Tame Impala - "Deadbeat" (2025)

Kevin Parker, the mastermind behind Tame Impala, is self-admittedly a perfectionist and as fame and critical acclaim has come his way he has taken longer and longer to craft each new record. There was five years between Currents (which took him from indie darling to one of the biggest names in music) and The Slow Rush - which was itself nearly 6 years ago now. The Slow Rush era started with a bit of a sputter, with the original lead single, Patience, scrapped from the album and second single, Borderline, entirely remixed for the album version. I personally really like that album (and actually prefer it to Currents), but on the whole it wasn't met with the same rapturous praise that previous TI albums had been up to that point. In the years since, Kevin has been extremely active as a producer and collaborator, delving further into his dance tendencies working with Dua Lipa, Gorillaz and Justice just to name a few.

So it is not a surprise that for the 5th TI album, Kevin has gone fully dance and basically made a house and techno album. Aside from the hazy, reverb-laden vocals, the psychedelic rock and pop that the project built its name on has basically all gone. The first taste of the record we got was the closing track, End Of Summer. The song didn't have anything notably awful about it, but felt really bland and lifeless for a house track. It felt throwaway and uninspired, like something Kevin was just working on something and just wanted to throw it out there, not the lead single to a new album. Considering the false start to The Slow Rush rollout, I had hoped that maybe it was just a non-album single that wasn't going to be characteristic of the whole record; but then we heard Loser, the second single, and I started to sense that we were in for a real misfire. I like the first three seconds of that song, with its warbly, psyched out, mariachi-esque riff. But it is then repeated at nauseum for nearly four minutes with some really trite lyrics about being a loser ect. Kevin has a tendency to be indulgently self deprecating (why I'm not the biggest fan of Currents despite everyone else loving it), but one of the major themes of The Slow Rush was about Kevin accepting himself for who he is and to stop comparing himself to others about where he should be in life and how people perceive him. It feels like such a regression and also really doesn't do anything with the topic. Where Lonerism really delved into Kevin's psyche as an outsider, Loser just feels like him wearing it as an aesthetic despite him being incredibly successful and adored at this point.

Things improve a bit with the third single, Dracula - mainly due to it being more melodic and having a somewhat funky and fun bass groove. It actually feels like a complete song, where End Of Summer and Loser just felt like first drafts. However, it is far from TI's best, and does get a little repetitive over a few listens with its simple melody and kind of garish Halloween theming. The only other somewhat redeeming song is the opener, My Old Ways. The intro to the song is a very stripped back vocal passage from Kevin and stark piano riff, which is then met by a bouncy, danceable house groove that comes in at the midpoint. It hasn't got anything on any track from TI's back catalogue, but stands out by a country mile when compared to the dross on the rest of the album.

Deadbeat's biggest crime is that for a dance album, it is just so boring. It's instrumentally lifeless, and so poe-faced and self-serious. Outside of Dracula, it has no sense of fun. It's 55 minutes of Kevin moping about, complaining about 'how much of a loser he is' over washed out, greyscale beats with no sense of melody or groove. No Reply sees Kevin complaining about a mismatched relationship where he comes across as the loser in the situation. The lyric "You're a cinephile, I watch Family Guy" has already been memed on the internet for how dreadful it is. Everything about the song is so tiring, from the repetitive beat to Kevin's monotonous drawl. Oblivion sounds like a smooshy, reverbed to hell version of the Minecraft soundtrack with a beat under it; and Piece Of Heaven is the same but for Enya's Sail Away. The first half of Not My World is pretty boring, but then does layer up into more enjoyable dance groove towards the back end of the song.

While the album is initially bland and lifeless, but generally tolerable; it's at Ethereal Connection that it really starts to wear on me. The track is a needlessly long and uneventful techno tune with not a single moment of interest within its runtime. It kills what little engagement I have with the record and makes me want to turn it off before the last few tracks roll past and fail to hook me back in. Even the good TI albums can be criticised for being a bit too long, and Deadbeat really doesn't justify its length.

Everything about Deadbeat, from its name to its boring music and defeatist lyrical content make it feel almost like self sabotage. Part of me wonders if Kevin has subconsciously deliberately released a half-arsed stinker of an album to try and relieve himself of the pressure of expectations that his legacy has created. The drop in quality is just that significant and that weird. Kevin knows how to make a dance song, just listen back to Let It Happen, or Breath Deeper, or Neverender with Justice. I'm glad I'm done with this review, so I don't ever need to listen to Deadbeat again.

Top Tracks: My Old Ways

3/10

Charli XCX - "BRAT" (2024)

As promised, here's what I think of BRAT. Like many others, my experience of Charli XCX was mostly her smash hits of the early to mid 2010s - the likes of I Love It, Boom Clap and her feature on Iggy Azalea's Fancy. However by the time of 2016's Vroom Vroom EP, Charli started shifting into the emerging genres of hyperpop and bubblegum bass, a much more subversive and less commercial sound. Coincidentally the EPs title track is probably the last time I remember a Charli XCX song having a significant pop-culture presence. Pretty much everything Charli put out following this creative shift has gained huge amounts of critical acclaim, but never really captured the pop-culture attention that some of those early songs did. It's a sentiment I can certainly understand, as while I would occasionally hear some of the newer singles on the radio (and enjoyed them well enough), I never felt compelled to check out the records despite them consistently making year end lists.

What was different about BRAT (bar the effective marketing with the lime green aesthetic and 'x is brat' memes), is that the singles did compel me to check out the full thing. They weren't just somewhat edgy pop songs, they had depth and heart that fitted into a wider narrative that's presented on the album. Charli is being open and vulnerable on these songs and I think that is what has connected with me and many others. BRAT at its core is a record about the transitional period of your mid to late 20s, where you can feel yourself growing and maturing, but still not ready to let go of the adventures and chaos of youth. In Charli's case, it is framed around her competing desires to be a part of the hedonistic party scene that she grew up a part of (and has made a big part of her stage persona) and a longing to have an identity (and legacy) beyond that.

The album opens with 360, which almost serves as pres music for a big night out. Lyrics centre around looking in the mirror and hyping yourself up. The repeated synth riff of the song also becomes a bit of a motif that reoccurs later on in the record. This leads into Club classics, which is a straight up club banger. The booming bass and skittering synth lines, alongside Charli's lyrics about wanting to party with her friends to the 'club classics' make it a perfect party tune. Sympathy is a knife is the first time the record really delves into something deeper. The song is not so subtly about Charli's relationship with Taylor Swift and how their interactions have made Charli feel. But it isn't really a diss track, as Charli is more reflective on how her own insecurities are shaping her perception of Taylor, and how it's more coming from her as opposed to Taylor slighting her in some way. The song has a soaring hook (one of the catchiest on the record) searing synths and a skittering drum beat, creating a very high stakes tension to the song that really pays of. Its definitely one of my favourites of the record.

I might say something stupid slows it down and brings some quite raw and intimate lyrics where Charli is vulnerable about her insecurities regarding her level of fame and how she feels "one foot in a normal life", not quite belonging in the celebrity world but also at a level of fame where she doesn't feel like she belongs in a normal life either. Midpoint Everything is romantic hits similar vibes, as Charli repetitively lists off mundane, day to day items and experiences and romanticises them against a very rigid drum beat and contrasting cinematic strings. Talk talk and Von dutch sit in between these tow tracks and bring back the feel good party vibes. Talk talk is a sensual piece of synth pop, and Von dutch goes hard with it's throbbing base and whining synth lines. The lyrics centre around tearing down someone who is obsessively jealous of Charli. It has a huge It Girl, 'no fucks given' vibe to it.

The back half of the record is not quite as strong in my opinion, but has some real highlights on it. Rewind recycles and permutates the 360 motif, and while I get what it's trying to achieve by using the same musical ideas to emphasise it's themes of wanting to go back to the start, reminiscing on the past and trying to undo your imperfections, I don't find this version of the 360 beat nearly as engaging. From a lyrical front, So I is a beautiful ballad dedicated to the late hyperpop pioneer and Charli's friend, SOPHIE. It is heart wrenchingly vulnerable and touching. But on a musical front the song is by far the safest on the record, and feels rather plain compared to the rest of what's on offer. B2b is an atmospheric club track with minimal lyrics, but I can say it's something I'm excited to get to when listening through the album.

However the best parts of the second half are so good! Starting with Girl, so confusing. Much like Sympathy is a knife, the track deep dives into Charli's relationship with another pop star, this time being Lorde. However, the angle here is much more about Charli trying to reach out to Lorde and be open about a perceived miss-match and misunderstandings between the two because she really respects her and wants their relationship to grow. (As a result Lorde featured on the even better remix where she is equally candid and vulnerable). Apple has grown on me massively since first listen, as it's a very catchy synth pop jam with a great analogy about generational trauma being an apple rotten right to the core. Mean girls acts a sort of last hurrah for the party girl vibes from earlier on in the record as Charli describes the party girl / It Girl archetype with such allure against a throbbing house beat and skittering jazzy keyboards.

The record closes with the duo of I think about it all the time and 365. I think about it all the time strips the song back to basically just a drum beat and a few low key synths as Charli discusses meeting up with her friends who just had a baby and how that has caused her to reflect on whether she wants a child, her own biological clock and the career sacrifices she might have to make if she chooses to start a family. 365 brings everything full circle and remixes the 360 beat with a fresh set of lyrics primarily focused around drug usage. While I get what what Charli has done placing it as the closer to the record, essentially saying that while she's having these desires to move away from the party scene, she's still not ready to leave it behind quite yet; it does kind of lessen the impact of the arc of the record, especially I think about it all the time.

BRAT has the majority of the best pop songs I've heard this year on it and all wrapped up in an incredibly tight and thematically complete record. There are a couple of moments where I thought it could've been a little more daring but every song on here is at the very least really good and well worth your time. I would also recommend checking out the remix album as well, as much like the Lorde remix of Girl, so confusing, the tracks are more than just remixes - they are further extensions and reinterpretations of the themes of the original tracks.

Top Tracks: 360, Club classics, Sympathy is a knife, I might say something stupid, Talk talk, Von dutch, Everything is romantic, Girl, so confusing, Apple, Mean girls, I think about it all the time, 365

8/10

Primal Scream - "Screamadelica" (1991)

 

It's time for another record from my 100 albums bucket list poster, being Primal Scream's Screamadelica. This is the group's third record, and the one which broke them into the mainstream, incorporating house and other forms of dance music into the band's more traditional indie rock and neo-psychedelic approach. The record spawned the massive singles Movin' on Up, Come Together and Loaded that are absolutely everywhere; and are the tracks from the record that I was already familiar with going in. The album, quite uniquely, was written as more traditional rock songs and then reassembled into these sprawling dance tracks by producers Andrew Weatherall and Hugo Nicolson (plus a few guests). This approach gives the album a certain loose and organic feel to it, with the more natural instrumentation and samples giving a lot of texture as opposed to the more robotic and rhythmic nature of nature of late 80s and early 90s house.

The loose party atmosphere is evident from the opening jangles and Rolling Stones-esque, gospel inspired piano chords and choral backing vocals of Movin' on Up. The track layers up into this euphoric and anthemic climax that acts as an invitation into the album, with the promise that its gonna be a good time. The vibe is instantly switched up into the neo-psych meets dub meets acid house banger that is Slip Inside this House. Originially a 60s psych rock song by the 13th floor elevators, its not as high energy as Movin' on Up but more hypnotic and spacy. Don't Fight It, Feel It is more indebted to house with it's four to the floor beat, powerful soul vocals and percussive piano hits; however this also slips through multiple sections that become increasingly enchanting as they layer up. It remains interesting and super groovy for its entire 7 minute run.

At this point in the record, the band decide it's time for the first downtempo comedown to allow us to catch our breath with Higher Than the Sun. This track actually has two versions on the record, with this first one produced by ambient house innovators, The Orb. This version is much shorter than the second one, produced by Weatherall, but I think I like it more. It's dark and spacy, with these trip-hop style breakbeats and weird ambient noises. Inner Flight builds on this, turning the dark ambience of Higher Than the Sun into a more melodic and uplifting interlude. There's no vocals on the track and it sort of functions as a reset from the first leg of the record before the twin centrepieces of the record, Come Together and Loaded, barrage in with the most anthemic and feel-good party anthems the album provides.

And barrage in they truly do. Come Together opens with a building synth line and a sample of a speech by Jesse Jackson (a US political activist) where he narrates the unifying and collective experience music provides to society. The drums slowly creep in, then does the piano notes, then the wobbly psyched out synths. It builds and builds for 5 minutes, before the hook of the song rears its head and all of the tension is released. It's such a patient and well constructed dance track that keeps interest for its 10 minute runtime without throwing the kitchen sink in. Loaded goes even harder, with its iconic "We want to be free to do what we want to do, and we want to get loaded" sample and the bombastic "I've gone all delusional" hook that just pumps you up so hard against the dramatic horn sections and the return of the bluesy, gospel outro style of Movin' On Up. This time it goes even more massive and anthemic though. It really is one of those songs that turns everything up to 11 and somehow it not only works but blows your head off as well.

The back end of the record functions as a comedown from the unbelievable high of Loaded, with the acoustic ballad of Damaged; the aptly titled I'm Comin' Down; the second version of Higher Than the Sun; and the closer Shine Like Stars. Damaged and I'm Comin' Down feature far more traditional instrumentation and strip down the neo-psychedelic elements which grounds the album in the real world for a little while, and Damaged is actually a really good bluesy ballad, even if it's a stark left turn from the rest of the album so far. I'm Comin' Down makes more use of additional instrumentation and effects, but is even more melodically simple and low key. It almost feels a little too slow at points, although the track does pick up towards the end with a cool wonky sax solo. Higher Than the Sun (A Dub Symphony in Two Parts) is slower and spacier than its earlier counterpart, with a lot of reverb on everything. The breakbeats are more smothered on this versions, and it features a central break which then builds into a bassier second half. This version certainly has more elements to it than the Orb version, but it doesn't really come together into anything particularly satisfying. This leads into the closing track, Shine Like Stars, which is probably the most forgettable song on the record. It features Bobby Gillespie wistfully singing over a simple beat and psychedelic effects and really doesn't go anywhere to be honest.

It's a shame Screamademica ends on its weakest couple of tracks because the first 3/4 of it bangs so hard. It's a really great dance record that incorporates so many styles and moods that it doesn't get repetitive or tiresome. It's iconic for a reason and great record for summer. I keep coming back to it and Loaded might be the best track to start a dance party playlist with.

Top Tracks: Movin' On Up, Slip Inside this House, Don't Fight It, Feel It, Higher Than the Sun, Come Together, Loaded, Damaged

8/10