Lonerism

Australian musician Kevin Parker is a bit of a musical savant. Although Tame Impala tours as a band, the group's psychedelic trip-pop is pretty much due to Parker's writing, playing, and even producing. Parker sidekick and collaborator Jay Watson shares songwriting credit this time around, notably on two standout tracks: "Elephant" (an impossibly delectable blend of Sabbath stomp and Syd Barrett trippy-ness) and "Apocalypse Dreams" (a gorgeous, chameleonic tune that reflects Parker's noted influence, Todd Rundgren). And though it's hard to hear the opening "Be Above It" or "Mind Mischief" without detecting some Revolver- and Sgt. Pepper's–era Beatles in the songs' DNA, Lonerism is loaded with more synthesizers and ambient sounds than guitars. It's definitely a more pop-oriented album than the crunchy Innerspeaker, and it reveals another compelling side to Tame Impala. (Check out Watson's other band POND, and its LP Beard, Wives, Denim, for another dose of satisfying psych-rock.)