Tame Impala released a teaser for a fictional drug named “Rushium” produced by a fictional company called AionWell®. The label on the drug reads “Tame Impala 2021 V.1 Clinical Trial S.R. Tour,” indicating that the dates for the “Rushium Phase I Trials” listed in the press release are the band’s new North American tour dates in support of their 2020 record The Slow Rush.

The teaser video shows videos distorting in a series of glitches as Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker walks around in a lab coat. Their song “Posthumous Forgiveness” plays in the background.

The tour announcement explains, “AionWell® LTd, an Australian privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing recombinant stabilization and extending cellular space regrowth, announced today that Kevin Parker, DBA ‘Tame Impala,’ has acquired minority equity interest in AionWell® LTd and acquired an option to acquire the remaining equity in the company. The option will be available after the Phase I trial of Rushium® in the treatment of Acute Time Metagrobolization in Cells (ATMiC) in patients from 16 to 95 years of age. ATMiC is a common cellular condition within the Suprachiasmatic nucleus of the brain, much of the research on this condition has been disrupted and continues to be done. Consistent with current knowledge, ATMiC can affect up to half of the population. There are currently no approved treatments for this condition and the only treatment is supportive care and a third dose mesothermal approach.”

A website created for the fictional company provides more information on what the fake drug is supposed to do. It states, “Our scientists found that applying transverse waves in a feedback loop within the optic nerve causes spatial dispersion of a nonzero frequency. The effect is potentially groundbreaking, finally giving relief for Acute Time Metagrobolization in Cells (ATMiC). ‘Imagine time as a pile of laundry, on Rushium® I finally feel like I am able to separate and fold each item,’ said one subject who was part of one of our early controlled studies. There is no doubt that Rushium® is very exciting. Rushium is taken orally with effects beginning within 15 to 30 seconds.”

The new tour dates appear to be replacing the previously announced North American tour dates, since many of the venues and locations overlap with the band’s prior plans. It will now begin with their Bonnaroo appearance in Manchester, TN on September 4, and still includes their festival appearances at Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas, NV, Firefly Festival in Dover, DE and Outside Lands in San Francisco, CA. Other notable locations will include Chicago, IL’s United Center, Portland, OR’s Fashion Center, Atlanta, GA’s State Farm Arena, two nights at Los Angeles, CA’s Hollywood Bowl, Austin, TX’s Frank Erwin Center and a TBD date at Toronto, ON’s Scotiabank Arena.

Tame Impala 2021 North American Slow Rush Tour Dates:

9/4 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
9/7 – Chicago, IL – United Center
9/10 – George, WA – The Gorge
9/12 – Portland, OR – Fashion Center
9/15 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
9/17 – Las Vegas, NV – Life Is Beautiful Festival
9/18 – Glendale, AZ – Gila River Arena
9/20 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
9/23 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
9/25 – Dover, DE – Firefly Festival
9/28 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
10/31 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Festival
11/2 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
11/3 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
11/7 – Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center
11/9 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
TBD – Toronto, Ontario – Scotiabank Arena

Photo credit: Kalyn Oyer