The Australian, psychedelic rock band Tame Impala have released their comeback single “Patience” today, nearly four years since their 2015 album Currents skyrocketed their success as artists and made the band a household name. The release of this new track comes right after the band announced their festival tour dates this Spring, headlining Coachella for both nights back to back.
“Patience” opens up strong with a soothing piano riff, corresponding synth lines, a congo roll that drives the rhythm of the song and the charm of their signature psychedelic tunes. The track itself seems to take a turn away from the sounds of their grinding guitars, and focus more on a slow synth-pop atmosphere.
Frontman Kevin Parker tells a story of the band’s journey since their career took charge, a tale of how fast time goes and not being able to stop it. He opens up with the lyrics, “Has it been that long? / Did I count the days wrong?” alluding to the length of time its taken to release new music. He then leads on to sing, “Did we just go back at all? / All the way to step one,” which further promotes the idea that Parker is worried that the success of the band is no longer culturally relevant since the release of their 2015 album.
The band themselves have been keeping themselves culturally relevant behind the scenes, with Parker dabbling in writing and producing work for big-name artists like Lady Gaga, Kanye West, SZA, Travis Scott and Mark Ronson. Their 2015 album Currents was such a staple piece in their discography that Rihanna covered their song “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” for her 2016 album ANTI.
Last year, Parker talked about releasing new Tame Impala record in time for the summer of 2019. “I would very much hope so [to release a new Tame Impala record in summer 2019], I’d be very disappointed if we didn’t have something out by then,” he said before continuing on. “I mean, I love playing the songs live, I love playing ‘Currents’ songs, I love playing ‘Lonerism’ songs and everything, but I think I’m ready to play some other songs live. All the instinctual things are there.”
There are signs pointing to “Patience” being not only a comeback single but a leading single for an upcoming record. Fans might even see them touring and playing new songs this spring, stay tuned.
Photo taken by Marv Watson
Leave a Comment