Tame Impala Creates Mind-Bending Psychedelic ASMR On ‘The Slow Rush’

The Slow Rush, Tame Impala’s fourth studio album, is set to land with us on February 14 – almost like a Valentine’s Day gift from Kevin Parker himself – and it feels like it’s him at his absolute best.

Coming in five years after the drop of 2015’s Currents, it’s clear that Kevin has explored every facet of psychedelic rock like a gemologist with their best loupe, narrowing in on all the imperfections that makes a it refract light and create enchanting shapes and colours.

Sonically, it’s an absolute mindfuck – sounds and vocals swirl around your head like a psychedelic watercolour. Kevin Parker has created a world that’s totally immersive and envelops you in a complex and intricate sound, manipulating the space between your eardrums into one big trippy, fluid mess.

It’s almost like the ASMR of psych rock albums – his voice carries from side to side, surrounding you in his dreamy melodies, while synths snake through your ears and around your brain, and a simple beat keeps things driving along. I highly recommend you listen with the best noise-cancelling headphones that you can get your hands on.

The singles we’ve already heard like ‘Borderline’, ‘It Might Be Time’, and ‘Lost In Yesterday‘  fit so neatly into The Slow Rush; they’re beautiful on their own but as soon as they’re fit into the whole album, it’s like a perfect weave of the trippiest, multicoloured tapestry, or like one of those gradient jigsaw puzzles – once complete it’s equal parts stunning and absolutely mind bending.

In listening through the album cover to cover, you can almost picture the visuals that Kev is working towards for the band’s live shows. Closing your eyes, the music almost paints its own picture right behind your eyelids.

I don’t think I have legitimate synaesthesia, but this album is throwing out colours harder and faster than Jackson Pollock on a good day.

The Slow Rush truly is the perfect title for Tame Impala’s latest offering, because that’s the feeling it’s pulling me through. Like a king tide rising up from the ocean, it comes in waves and Kev’s masterful work pushes and pulls you into different states of bliss.

And much like the encroaching tide, Tame Impala’s king tide has come back to our shores, washing up some serious psychedelic treasures from the depths. They’re physically returning to Australian sands this year as well, with a solid arena tour locked in over April.

The latest offering from Kevin Parker is perfect listening for hazy summer afternoons that seem to stretch into eternity, when the sunset is looking more like a tequila sunrise than a trick of the light.

The Slow Rush hits your local records store and your favourite music streaming service on February 14.

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