When Kevin Parker posted early single Let It Happen back in March, he was signalling a bit of a change for the Tame Impala sound. Less guitars, more synth, less rock, more disco, less fuzzy, more dreamy. But though Currents is a departure from the Perth-based act's first two albums, it's still all about psychedelia.
Not really in the vein of the 60s any longer, but something more futuristic, and unconcerned with any preconceptions of the genre.
Fans of his swirling, hypnotising style will still find plenty to get lost in, it's just a different kind of trip, one which crashes right through the psychedelic rock boundaries and into something more groove-based, with pop song leanings - although Parker disturbs any such notions with his unconventional structures and unexpected harmonies.
As a seven-minute opening opus, Let It Happen is really a great taster for what's to follow - gentle siren-like droning, the irrepressible handclaps, submerged middle section that effortlessly but unexpectedly shifts the tonality of the track, the dreamy 80s wash, soaring melodic phrase, the "skipping record needle" section, the Daft Punkian vocals at the end.
