Since his last album in 2020, “The Slow Rush,” Kevin Parker of Tame Impala has returned with “Deadbeat,” establishing a new era to take his listeners through: house music.
After a focus on droning guitars on “InnerSpeaker” and the addictive drums of “Lonerism,” 2015’s “Currents” brought a synth-heavy take on psychedelic rock. 2020’s “The Slow Rush brought a completely different vibe as a slower and more disco-focused rock project. All four projects brought a certain cohesive focus, which was something I was excited to see take shape on “Deadbeat.”
Following the release of the three singles leading up to “Deadbeat,” I was unsure what to expect. After the nearly seven minute long “End of Summer” — Parker’s first solo release delving into EDM, “Loser” was released, accompanied by a music video featuring actor and musician Joe Keery.
The focus on dance music was not surprising to those who had been watching Parker’s transformation since 2020. Parker released music in the EDM sphere, with the 2023 disco track “Journey to the Real World” written for “Barbie” and the 2024 collab with French EDM duo Justice on “Neverender,” which won Parker his Grammy Award.
However, there is a clear continuation of production on “Deadbeat” from a project Parker is less known for: Dua Lipa’s 2024 album “Radical Optimism.” The dance-pop album had all but four songs produced by Parker and it marked the first non-psychedelic rock-pop album he produced. Although less pop-focused than Lipa’s album, tracks on “Deadbeat” like “My Old Ways” and “Dracula” had similar production and was clearly more of the EDM-focused vibe that Parker had not strayed from since more rock-heavy tracks on “The Slow Rush.”
Parker said “Deadbeat” was inspired by bush doof culture, known in Australia as an electronic music party. Parker carried this theme from beginning to end of the album; I danced to every song.
As someone who is used to the guitar-heavy rock from Parker, “Ethereal Connection” and “Not My World,” two tracks reminiscent of Aphex Twin, were very hard to digest for the first few listens. However, what makes Parker such a strong artist is the fact that he can create such an impactful listening experience, no matter the genre.
One shortcoming of “Deadbeat” left me disappointed: the lyricism. I understand that “Deadbeat” was created for EDM venues where the beat holds more value. Yet, I am impressed by lyricism like “Posthumous Forgiveness” on “The Slow Rush,” among others in his earlier discography. This only makes me wonder why Parker would add lyrics like “You’re a cinephile, I watch Family Guy on a Friday night off a rogue website” on “No Reply,” a clear miss in lyricism.
It is hard to not compare “Deadbeat” to previous records of Parker’s when the intention was far different than any music he had previously released. Instead, as a fan of Parker’s genius, I admired the layering of instrumentation and fusion of genres throughout his earlier discography. Although these things were not as present on “Deadbeat,” I chose to relax and focus on the house beats, a choice that helped me get over some elements I felt lacking across the record.
On tracks like “Oblivion” — a song that had the same unexciting house beat for all four minutes of the track — or “See You On Monday (You’re Lost)” — a song that left me waiting for something to happen sonically amidst lackluster lyricism — I was searching for a bit more oomph. It’s hard for tracks to be memorable when there is a lack of nuance to separate them, as the middle of the album had little to make me want to revisit them outside of a club.
If Parker focused on tracks like “End of Summer” that were entertaining and multifaceted from start to finish, the replay value would be exponentially greater across the album.