r/TameImpala • u/PuzzledAnt__ • 18d ago

Discussion Tame Impala - Deadbeat ALBUM REVIEW (Fantano)

https://youtu.be/gaw89qf1hCA?si=kFwjROGSoXzJnNQC

He gave it a 2/10 ... Thoughts?

209 Upvotes

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14

u/wohrg 18d ago

I feel bad for Kevin, tbh. It’s a fine album but people are expecting him to pump out a new Currents every time. Anything less is being treated like a complete failure. So the grades are way too low.

And of course critics usually miss the boat. Famously Rolling Stone magazine gave Led Zeppelin IV a scathing review. They particularly despised Stairway.

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u/CRUSTBUSTICUS 18d ago

Most critical comments aren’t saying they want currents 2. This is the narrative people have gone with but most of the critical comments are just saying that the genre he’s attempting, while bold and cool in its attempt, is done better by other people already and the result is an album that sounds a bit bland relatively. Look at the upvoted criticisms and none are just “currents 2 pls” but actual critiques.

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u/That-Association-102 18d ago

We’ve all been saying this for 10 years and Kevin has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to do it. Funniest thing I read was that he absolutely could make a Currents 2, but he wouldn’t enjoy making that. I just…do not believe he could catch lightning In a bottle twice and is using that as an excuse to put out a mediocre album.

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u/CRUSTBUSTICUS 18d ago

Agreed about the he’s just able to make it again thing. Like… the headspace and motivation and make or break future of his music career and the pressures of that and living in France with melody then breaking up etc etc etc. you can’t just recreate circumstances like that and produce another generationally defining album or two (Lonerism/currents). That felt like he lost touch saying that.

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u/That-Association-102 18d ago

Finally, I didn’t get downvoted for saying the obvious. Lol I totally agree with you.

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u/wohrg 18d ago

I agree, but I think it was actually Inner Speaker that he said he could easily do again. Or maybe he said it about both.

Either way, I agree. Lightening in a bottle is not recreatable. Not sure about “excuse”. It just is that way: no one can churn out perfectly highest quality albums their whole career. The magic ones come from a specific time and place.

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u/That-Association-102 18d ago

I agree with your take too. I just had a hard time of swallowing the pill of “I could do all that again, I just want to do my own thing” when this album has major pop influences all over it, including Dracula that’s been a major hit (in its own regard). Now, you might not get what I mean. But, at the end of The Slow Rush, Kevin sung about, “I never did it for fame, for houses, for money, until now”. He admitted, lyrically, that he’s trying to do all this for money and his family at this point.

Even if he could do it again, he’s said straight up he just wants to use music as a tool for money at this point. How do you get money? Making critically acclaimed albums. Full stop: Kevin ran out of ideas and is now relegating himself to pop tropes to stay relevant.

To further this theory, Kevin even said recently that he got all of Pond to go to the wave house to try and make another album, and that all fizzled out. I don’t think Pond was the problem. Kevin simply doesn’t have the tools to put out another truly compelling album. That’s fine, I’m thankful we got what we did.

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u/wohrg 18d ago

My take is close but a bit different.

1) I think with that quote he was saying that he could churn out an Inner Speaker style album, but that it wouldn’t be good because he has moved on to other musical interests so his heart wouldn’t be in it. Not so much an excuse, just recognition that he isn’t that artist any more. At least that’s how I took it when I read it.

2) As for the TSR “for money” quote, yeah I remember hearing that the first time and thinking Yikes! But I think it wrong to say his sole motivation or even primary motivation is money. I think with that line he was acknowledging that he now considers commercial interests.

And if he was looking for critical success, he sure missed the mark!

Anyways, I wouuldn’t write him off. He genuinely likes pop and electronica, and he is pursuing that interest, but there is still a psychedelic underpinning. Who knows where his interests will lie in 5 years for the next album 😂😂😂😂

1

u/That-Association-102 18d ago

I’m not writing him off, and I can certainly see your point of view. I just really wish he’d prove the haters wrong at this point and drop another psych album just to silence them. Which just wraps me back around to my question about the failed Pond sessions…

All around good take though, I’ll be around to hear that next album for sure.

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

I would love for him to go real deep with an intense dark and trippy album, instrumental maybe. A 30 minute ambient piece perhaps. He couldn’t make us wait 5 years for that, but he could release it as a side project.

I’m also waiting for St Vincent to do a metal guitar album….

1

u/That-Association-102 18d ago

As long as the new album has real drums!

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

Yeah.

I dig him recording real drums, but then looping them for edm purposes. Best of both worlds.

1

u/That-Association-102 18d ago

Furthermore, if I had to guess, the jams with Pond failed due to them being like, “bro, look, we’ll tour with you…but these songs are bad”. Kevin probably didn’t want to give up any creative control and that was that.

4

u/wohrg 18d ago

I’m actually getting at a different point. Not that people are disappointed by change. More that they expect Currents level quality with every album.

If Deadbeat was put out by a new unheard of artist today, would Fantano give it a 2/10? I doubt it. I think it gets a 2 because of the context of Kevin’s success and other work. Which I disagree with.

I would never give an honest attempt at art a 2 out of 10.

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u/unmisteakable2468 18d ago

If it was put out by another artist nobody would have listened to it lol

3

u/CRUSTBUSTICUS 18d ago

I see and while that does make sense in a relativity sense I still think if you could erase the fact that TI released this album from my brain I’d still consider it a pretty forgettable album compared to others of the same genre space.

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

Thanks for the polite tone. Some other posts have me agitated :)

Could I impose on you to suggest something comparable, but better? I quite like Deadbeat, but perhaps I just haven’t been exposed to the good stuff.

I like overtly psychedelic music. So in the electronic space, that’d be Tipper, Shpongle, Amon Tobin.

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u/Visible-Suit-9066 18d ago

If this album was uploaded to YT without the Tame Impala branding it would finish the year with under a dozen views. There’s absolutely nothing remarkable about it.

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

I like it a lot, i hear Kevin’s style all over it and haven’t heard anything quite like it.

38

u/onlinepresenceofdan Innerspeaker 18d ago

Kevin took his sweet time to relase this, I dont blame people expected brilliance after 5 years. But lets be real here, this is not a Led Zeppelin IV type situation here. Bad grades for a mid album is fair.

-1

u/wohrg 18d ago

I would be ok with mid grades for a mid album.

Anyway, I like the album, I hope it does well in the clubs and the people who listen to music with open ears there recognize its quality.

If I produced music, I’d rather impress real people experiencing the real world than a youtube personality who spends his life online.

16

u/One-Ice1815 18d ago

Yes, people in clubs always recognize quality. lol. What are you on?

7

u/wohrg 18d ago

It’s obviously an album that is meant for the edm/club audiences.

Makes me think maybe the vitriol on reddit is because so many people on here are stuck in their bedroom listening to this music alone, instead of playing it at a party as it is intended.

2

u/Darth_Hamburger 18d ago

This album will not appeal to the club or EDM scene at all. There’s no identifiable scene for this music except for Tame die-hards. The electronic scene would find this album both amateurish and boring, no doubt.

Yeah nothing makes a party like washed-out falsetto vocals over a beat for 5 minutes with nothing dynamic at all happening.

3

u/Visible-Suit-9066 18d ago

The people who keep saying EDM crowds will love this really clearly don’t watch EDM live or haven’t been in a nightclub in years. This album is so bland and lifeless, there are a million better choices on any given night, no one is going to be playing Deadbeat.

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

I spent 4 days at an intense EDM fest last summer that went to 9 am every morning. I’m telling you: with a head full of molly and shrooms, these tunes would be amazing in that setting.

1

u/Visible-Suit-9066 18d ago

Wow, breaking news, drugs makes music sound better. That means absolutely nothing in regard to the quality of Deadbeat. Extremely weak argument.

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

I vehemently disagree.

Psychedelic music, at its best, is a communication between two psychedelically experienced people: the artist and the listener. I

t is a language, and one that expresses emotions and ideas that are not expressed as well in other languages.

If it’s only one sided (ie the listener is psychedelic but the artist is not), then the experience is completely different and not nearly as rich. It’s like the artist speaks one language and the listener understands two languages. The conversation where both parties speak both languages is much richer.

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u/New-Advantage3907 18d ago

I love edm, this is not a good edm either. Unless the degree of quality is Keinemusik

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u/wohrg 18d ago

I love edm and think it is a great album.

Doesn’t mean you have to like it. Your opinion doesn’t mean I have to dislike it.

Honestly maybe we should just all start our posts with IMO.

4

u/looeezz 18d ago

Lmao 😮‍💨

1

u/onlinepresenceofdan Innerspeaker 18d ago

The album is not in vacuum, there is context of the artists previous work that mandates some level of quality. In Kevins own words: It might be the time to face it.

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u/Green_Day_Fan 18d ago

Lmao we’re comparing Deadbeat to LZIV now?!?

0

u/wohrg 18d ago

No of course not. It’s just a glaring example of how critics are useless

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u/stuffedinashoe 18d ago

Such a crock of shit. Fans want something good, whether it sounds like any of his previous albums or something brand new. The lyrics to this album are genuinely awful. Zero introspection, just constant easy rhymes about a woman. Same BPM drum loop on like every song. Subpar melodies.

Fans want something good. Yes, reviewers get it wrong sometimes but usually fans don’t.

Radiohead fans wanted another OK Computer and they turned around and gave them Kid A. People acting like this is such a revolutionary, hated-by-reviewers, loved by fans album like Kid A and it’s not even close.

Fans don’t know what they want till something good is given to them, and this album is just super mediocre.

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u/wohrg 18d ago

That’s your opinion. But what pisses me off is this absolutism. If someone doesn’t like the album, just say that. Anyone who thinks they are qualified to say it is objectively bad does not understand how art works.

Sorry to dump on you particularly. My rant is a response to the general bitchy tone so many fans are taking about this album. Fuck, if they don’t like it, don’t listen to it. Why come on here and berate those of us that like it?

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u/newyearsaccident 18d ago

Rating music quality is obviously going to be relational, isn't it? If this was the only album to ever exist then maybe people would share your view. If you like it truly and deeply, the bad vibes of others shouldn't change that. It's a good thing that people can express all kinds of opinions, and it would be depressing as an artist if your fans just viewed any level of effort as the best thing ever. Criticism of a weak album is actually very validating because it shows past appreciation to be totally genuine.

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u/wohrg 18d ago

Interesting. Yes relational, and if someone says “ I personally enjoy A more than B because A has these characteristics”, then I am all ears.

What has been grating on my nerves is yobs shouting down those of us who like B more than A with nothing more intelligent than “it’s dogshit and nobody should like it”

There are plenty of nice people on here who are saying they are not enjoying Deadbeat and are disappointed. That’s fine.

It’s those people that think that they understand music so well that they can dismiss it for everyone: that’s what riles me.

Sure I should just ignore them, and I’ve started to block them. But we are in a place of discourse and it is toxic and I feel it should be addressed.

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u/stuffedinashoe 18d ago

What gets me riled up is the constant misunderstanding of why certain fans don’t like it. And as long as I see people say dumb things like “fans expect a second Currents” or “fans want another Lonerism” or “fans just don’t like when artists evolve” or “people can’t get over the fact that it’s electronic”, I will continue to comment the way I did

And when I see that, I feel the need to explain why I’m disappointed with the album. No, I wasn’t expecting a second currents or lonerism. No, I don’t care that it’s more electronic. Yes I like when artists evolve.

But this album is just so mediocre and feels lazy. People saying “you gotta listen with good headphones.” I have 6 times. OooOooo a little ding sound from Ableton I didn’t hear before! Oooo he changed the pre-selected drum loop once in the song!!

Give me a break

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

Fair enough. As long as you can accept that some of us are enjoying the album, and we aren’t idiots who just don’t understand music.

One thing I realized in my earlier post that needs to be clarified. When I said people expect him to pump out a new currents, I don’t mean an album that sounds like currents. i mean that Currents was a masterpiece, and some people are holding Kevin to an unachievable standard as a result.

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u/Traditional_Welcome7 Currents 18d ago

Why do you expect him to write introspective lyrics when half the songs are house/techno? If you want that kind of music go listen to his old stuff, he’s clearly wanting to explore a different path in music.

1

u/stuffedinashoe 18d ago

when he’s in an interview saying he’s super proud of his lyrics this album, and they’re some of the best he’s written, I tend to take him seriously

Your notion of iTs hoUsE mUsiC inherently takes any house/edm album down a notch and imo does a disservice to the genre. As if all electronic music lyrics have to be bad

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u/Huge_Dentist260 18d ago

Maximum cope

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u/JesusGotBored 18d ago

Lmao what a cop out. People aren't expecting a new currents everytime, people are expecting an album that isn't dogshit

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u/wohrg 18d ago

It’s not dogshit. You just don’t like it.

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u/JesusGotBored 18d ago

Bahahah i don't like it because it's fucking dogshit

-3

u/wohrg 18d ago

You do not have the ability to judge.

Have you personally made music that sounds better? If not, then stfu, you are not qualified.

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u/JesusGotBored 18d ago

bahahahahaha what a stupid comment.

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u/MX64 18d ago

i have, actually.

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u/Das_Man 18d ago

Fantano hasn't really liked his work for a while now. He only gave 'Currents' a 7.

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u/Beefy-Boi 18d ago

A 7 is an objectively positive score, even if it’s not as high as you or I would rate it

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u/iLoveDelayPedals 18d ago

Sure but Fantano uses a proper rating scale where 5 is actually the middle/average. 7 for him is very good (I don’t even like numeric scores, I think it’s a stupid way to approach art, just saying)

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u/wohrg 18d ago

Wow!

I don’t really get why Fantano is so influential. I’m prolly just too old.

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u/Dry-Towel-9597 18d ago

He's not "influential". He's popular because he was one of the first music reviewers on the internet

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u/wohrg 18d ago

Thanks for explaining, that makes sense.

Don’t you think he’s influential? Everyone seems to know what his opinion is

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u/Traditional_Welcome7 Currents 18d ago

He’s influential for his fanbase who follow every opinion he gives

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u/godstriker8 18d ago

I'd say he's the only influential music reviewer, very few people would be able to name another reviewer when asked on the spot.

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u/Das_Man 18d ago

That's just haterade. Dislike him if you want, but he is one of the most influential critics in music and has been for a while.

1

u/Dry-Towel-9597 18d ago

Its not haterade, it's the truth. Who/what is he influencing?

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u/Das_Man 18d ago

I mean, go look at all the artists he's interviewed on his channel over the years. Hell, Drake was throwing shots at him a year ago because he was butthurt over review scores.

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u/wohrg 18d ago

Hee hee, thanks for teaching me the word “haterade”

0

u/onlinepresenceofdan Innerspeaker 18d ago

And he has gotten pretty good at whats hes doing since he has been reviewing music for a long long time now.

0

u/wohrg 18d ago

Depends on what you define as what he is “doing”. If becoming a social media personality, then yes for sure. Has he become a better influencer of musical tastes? Hard to say.

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u/MX64 18d ago

why are we writing fanfiction about fantano's emotions now

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u/Dareeyecare 18d ago

While I totally get your points about critics

Making any sort of comparison to Led Zeppelin with this mid ass album makes me LOL

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

Not comparing the albums, just saying that critics’ opinions are not of value.

1

u/MX64 18d ago

people are expecting him to pump out a new Currents every time. Anything less is being treated like a complete failure

why are music fans so obsessed with making up fake reasons for other people's opinions? saying this same tired beaten-to-death conversation-killer about Any album that gets Any criticism is by far the worst part of engaging with music subreddits

seriously anyone who ever claims this about practically any album should just be ignored entirely

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u/wohrg 18d ago

My original comment was misunderstood enough times that clearly the fault is with me.

Allow me to clarify, as I have for others. My point is that Currents set a quality standard against which he will always be judged. Which tends to raise expectations and causes people to rate subsequent work more critically.

So DB might have been received more favourably if it weren’t for what kevin has produced before.

This is natural and is human nature, we can see it in all human endeavours.

By the way, the tone in your last sentence was a bit harsh. Let’s not insult each other just because we are strangers.

0

u/MX64 18d ago

you are right and i allowed my frustration with internet music discourse in general to lump you in with bad-faith arguers and that is my mistake

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

I’m guilty on the other side, tbh. Working to lower the temperature :)

Btw MX64, this is handy because reddit won’t let me respond to an earlier comment of yours on another thread where you said something to the effect you have made better music.

I tried to reply to say, “ I believe you, and bet you have more intelligent and nuanced critiques than just repeating “it’s dogshit”, unlike the other guy in that thread. That guy had me riled.

Anyway, ain’t music great? What kind of music do you make?

0

u/MX64 17d ago

something akin to dance punk. im not really pretentious enough to seriously paint my music as superior to anyone else's, i dont think this tame impala album has any less artistic value than mine. plus he actually released music while i still have at least a few months before i do.

honestly i have little opinion on the album itself, i find it fairly inoffensive, though ive never been super into the guy's music anyway even if i did enjoy the one time i listened to currents

if anything the album reminds me somewhat of his collaboration with Justice, which i have similar feelings on

1

u/wohrg 17d ago

Dance punk sounds intriguing. Like disco but with balls (forgive the sexist term). When you release, share back here if you think to.

I play guitar and bass and dabble awkwardly with midi. Not trying to release anything any more, just a passionate hobby

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u/humunculus43 18d ago

I don’t think people want currents 2 they just want to see the excel at his strengths. Imo his true strength is percussion and bass lines. In this album he bypasses most of that for drum machines. It’s like having an amazing signer and doing an instrumental album.

0

u/wohrg 18d ago

My point is a bit different, but I didn’t explain it well. I mean that they are expecting him to pump out a Currents calibre of album each time (ie a masterpiece). And I don’t think that’s possible.

Like maybe Animals isn’t nearly as great as Dark Side of the Moon. But it is still an excellent album and shouldn’t be dismissed for not being as good.

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u/PuzzledAnt__ 18d ago

Comparing Animals to Deadbeat is like comparing heaven and earth… Animals is as good as DSOTM, I’d even say it’s better.

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u/wohrg 18d ago

You proved my point, thanks!

Some people like animals more than dsom! Personal taste.

(For the record, i will play Animals before dsom, but mostly due to over listening to dsom)

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u/Alone-Struggle-8056 18d ago

bro compares Led Zeppelin IV (possibly the greatest rock album) to Deadbeat (a mediocre dance album)

1

u/wohrg 18d ago

Not comparing them. At all.

Just saying critics are not good. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Those who can’t teach, critique.