M Means Music Explores Tame Impala’s ‘The Slow Rush’ In New Episode
The record arrived in 2020 as the fourth studio album from Kevin Parker’s musical project.
While M Means Music host Daryl Easlea loves to travel back decades in time to explore pivotal releases from the past, like Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ Imperial Bedroom or Dr. Dre’s 2001, the podcast’s latest episode dives into a more recent release: Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush, released in 2020 as the fourth studio album from Kevin Parker’s musical project.
“Parker’s move from galactic wig-outs to galactic discotheque over a decade has been relatively painless. In his quest to find a connection between “60s psych rock, psychedelic music and cosmic electronic music,” The Slow Rush, released in February 2020 marked the moment where Parker’s ideas approached fruition,” Easlea explains. “The Slow Rush may well have alienated some original fans, with its eschewing of electric guitars, and the songs more textural than necessarily ‘pop songs’ per se. As a result, The Slow Rush was greatly anticipated. There was something that just worked about Parker’s formula.”
The Slow Rush arrived on Valentines Day and encapsulates the creative ideas of a recently married Parker – reflecting on growing older, finding love, and more. It has been described as an exploration of “the oceans of time, conjuring the feeling of a lifetime in a lightning bolt, of major milestones whizzing by while you’re looking at your phone, it’s a paean to creation and destruction and the unending cycle of life.”
Throughout the episode, Easlea breaks down The Slow Rush into all of its core pieces through the examination of songs like “Lost In Yesterday,” “Instant Destiny,” “Breathe Deeper,” and more. There are stream of consciousness lyrics, dream pop, memories of taking ecstasy for the first time colored by influence from Mariah Carey and Pharrell, and leisurely, nostalgic trips.
“Had the gravity of the subject matter of The Slow Rush been married with doomy settings it would be an austere work,” Easlea says. “But to use the old adage that ‘a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down’, the serious subjects float by, and sink in deeper with repeated listening.”
The Slow Rush marked Tame Impala’s best-selling album to-date in the US in addition to garnering five ARIA Awards in Australia, including Album of the Year, Best Rock Album, and Producer of the Year for Parker. The album scored nods at the Billboard Music Awards and American Music Awards. The Slow Rush was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards as well as for Best Rock Song for “Lost In Yesterday.”
