Australian musician Kevin Parker is the namesake behind Tame Impala. Based in Fremantle in Perth, Western Australia, he has made a landmark solo career that has impressed many to this day. This album was released after a five-year-long gap between his previous solo recordings. Still, this is very musically relevant listening. How does it sound? Let’s find out.

One More Year launches the album with some cut-up and digital enhanced looped sounds which are super different. Soon enough, percussion EDM style beats enter and we are on our way. There are multiple layers of Psychedelic sound that are really excellent in this piece. Some very pretty singing by Kevin Parker is here. This is somewhat musically akin to early Pink Floyd or The Doors, it just sounds tripped out in that musical sense. Musically, this is quite inspired by Psychedelic Rock. An okay tune, this is very mindblowing for what it is, at least sonically but not musically. An exploration and insightful exploration of musical sound, this sounds very much unlike anything else out there to listen to. A decent listen, this gradually is stripped back to a logical conclusion. A good start, and interesting music, too.

Instant Destiny begins with some high-end register vocals and some beats to match. Unfortunately, this is not very good and comes across as a piece of contemporary music that is rubbish. Sadly, this is yet another piece of music that does not have much appeal. Anyway, it is cringeworthy music and musicality that can be easily skipped, so do so if you can. The falsetto really does not sound very good on this tune and destroys an otherwise decent addition to this album. The outro is very Psychedelic though and makes the piece a bit better. Still, this is polished rubbish. Not good.

Borderline begins with some basic Hip Hop beats, more terrible falsetto vocals and a contemporary feel of music that makes you want to hurl the album into the bin. Seriously. There is nothing wonderful nor musically significant about this album, and each song sounds exactly the same as well. This is not good and is very unimpressive. Believe it or not, this is the most popular track on this album. Heck, even Kid Rock can do better than this nowadays, which says a lot. In any case, the production is expensive-sounding and there are many layers of instrumentation, all without wide appeal to the listener. A real disappointment, this is very much a pathetic tune, even with all the fancy production. Avoid like the plague.

Posthumous Forgiveness begins with acoustic guitars, hi-hats and a load of layered sound effects. Sadly, that is exactly what this is about, sound effects and nothing else whatsoever. Very depressing to hear in this sense. There is nothing wonderful nor sensational about this music, it is a contemporary drag. Sure, some of the sounds are interesting and all, but nobody will remember this sort of music within 20 years. Even some of today’s Popstars will make longer lasting pieces of music historically than this, this is a joke. A pathetic attempt to be original, Kevin Parker fails here. The midsection is stupid and there are no guitar solos, just keyboards. Hit the stop button and go and do something else instead by this point. The second half is a little better but still is an embarrassment musically. The lyrics are incredibly lame, and there is nothing appealing here. Layers of EDM style experimentation do not do this justice. There are some loose guitar parts here in the background. All in all, a really pathetic joke of a song, and something you should not hear. Embarrassing.

Breathe Deeper is more of the same, rubbish music with a Disco feel. Again, this is instant junk to consume, just like McDonalds. It sounds really ordinary and embarrassing musically, and there is zero point to the songs here. This is music that does not need any time spent on it listening. A really pathetic and embarrassing tune to hear, this is truly detestable. Sonic garbage is what this music can be described as. Even the layered pianos do not save this from mediocrity, nor does the unoriginal midsection. Definitely a waste of time, and there is absolutely nothing special about the songs on this album. Skip it if you can, it’ll be best that you steer well clear of this fake music and go surfing on YouTube for something else. There is a false bunch of endings towards the end of the song, which really is a joke. Soon enough, some Roland TB-303 sounds enter to piece off this junk. Beyond terrible. It gets very loud towards the end before quickly concluding. A joke.

Tomorrow’s Dust sounds awful from the outset, with some inaudible vocals and beats. Soon enough, this launches into a piece of music that is an improvement over what came before but only a very small improvement nonetheless. The stupidity of this music is still here, sounding like the musical equivalent of projectile vomiting. The falsetto vocals and forgettable sounds aren’t worth your time and are enough to send one to sleep. Mind you, sleeping is much more important than this music. Avoid at all costs. Tame Impala? More like Lame Impala. Another piece of music drenched in sound effects that makes no sense to listen to. Very embarrassing to listen to, the sounds here are drivel. An ordinary piece of music, the outro is lame. There is another false ending before the outro emerges which is terrible. Rubbish.

On Track begins with some psychedelic piano sounds, before launching into a very ordinary and uninspired song. Even Robert Wyatt did better than this awful music, mind you that wouldn’t be too hard. A gut-wrenchingly embarrassing performance, this is a good example of why postmodern music stinks. The lyrics are lame too, “Strictly speaking, I’m still on track…” sings Kevin Parker. A really terrible tune that has nothing decent or inspired about it. Folks, eject this out of your music player and out the window if you can. A joke of a tune, and something that is really embarrassing musically. This album is, once again, a really pathetic joke to hear. Pathetic.

Lost In Yesterday begins with some unoriginal musical sounds, before going into another ordinarily forgettable piece of music. Again, this is really a big joke of a song and it makes very little difference to the music scene of today. There is an awful Electronic patch rather than a guitar solo here, but the whole thing still sounds terrible. This is a real case of quantity over quality. If you hate this tune, steer clear of the album as well. By the way, who cares enough about yesterday to be lost in it? The second half has some electronic sounds that aren’t the best. Forgettable and unenjoyable. This song is really bad, avoid it.

Is It True begins with bass guitar and bongo beats. It sounds like an awful rendition of a 1980s song. Again, there is nothing rememberable nor special musically interesting in this song. Some of the sounds on this track are really atrocious, and this wannabe neo-Disco rubbish does not make a good appeal to the listener. Instead, it falls flat on its face. If you want tripped out Psychedelia, Google Syd Barrett rather than listen to this drivel. This is a fake and empty album and song that has limited appeal. Towards the end is a breakdown that achieves little. Definitely a tune about the sonic experience over substance, just avoid this tune. Terrible, once again.

It Might Be Time begins with organ and other ordinary sound effects. Once again, this is music that is extremely limited in its appeal. It’s pretentious and terrible to hear, and the number of layered sounds on this is truly awful. There are some noisy drum beats and a more percussive feel that way. Still, this is like polishing a poor piece of music in the first place. A really ordinary and dreadful listen, there is very little way one can enjoy this. In any case, this is a slight improvement over what has come before with the banging drumbeats. Otherwise, this is beyond awful. The sounds in this are really terrible other than the drumbeats. A really forgettable tune. Poor music.

Glimmer begins with some stupid talk about cranking the bass up in a mix, before launching into a straightforward tune with some better melodies. Surprisingly good for this album, until the vocals come in. An improvement but still forgettable music. If this music had been more focused, then there would be more of a chance for it to survive here. It quickly fades out.

One More Hour begins with some delayed sounds, more soft vocals and a feeling that this is going to be as awful as the rest of the album, being the last song on it. A really terrible and ordinary listen, the chords and sounds here, along with some selfishly pretentious lyrics make this a real failure. This tune is over seven minutes long, so if you have seven minutes spare, go and make a cup of tea or coffee instead. Again, this is not a strong effort and is really unacceptable musically to be so textural and lacking proper hooks and melodies. The sounds get annoying after a while, and a repeated single note gets also very annoying. A really pathetic tune to hear, there is nothing really special or important here. This is only really recommended for sound effects enthusiasts, and nobody else. You don’t need to listen to this junk, there are many much better artists out there who do a better job than this. A real drag, this seven-minute-long piece is a bunch of musical masturbation. In other words, please do not listen to this. These tunes are all sound effects and have no structure about them. A drag musically, you’ll most definitely be glad when you reach the end of this horrid album.

This is absolutely terrible to hear. Tame Impala proved that sound effects over good craftsmanship and songwriting are not the way to go exclusively in the world of music. The music on this album is extremely limited in appeal and will destroy your ears and your musical mind if you listen to it. Therefore, do not listen to this album and find a better alternative out there than this rubbish. Avoid like the plague.

Beyond terrible.

3/10