Nearly four years have passed since Tame Impala's Currents, a glitter-dusted masterwork of astral rock music that effectively transformed the band's creative architect Kevin Parker into something of a star. Since then, Parker has guested on a track by EDM fixture Zhu, Rihanna's straight-up covered one of his songs, and Mark Ronson, SZA and groovy rapper Theophilus London have melded minds with him.
All this is to say that from his psychedelic rock leanings, Parker's been inching slowly toward the pop mainstream. And with "Patience," the first single of what is likely a forthcoming album, Parker's shed some of his past work's fuzzy, distorted shag to unveil a shimmering disco-ball interior underneath.
"Patience" kicks off with a languorous bit of piano-house, synth lines imported straight from '80s Italy, a congo roll — perhaps the ones pictured on the album art — and, of course, glimmers of starry-eyed psychedelics. It's immediately infectious. Parker asks, almost coyly, "Has it been that long? Did I count the days wrong?" Yes, Kevin, it's been a while — but when the pay-off is this luxurious, who's counting?