8/10

It was quite widely reported in the build up to this release that Tame Impala's Kevin Parker had fallen completely out of love with his previous LP 'Currents'. Despite many fans and critics heralding that record as one of his best of his career, the 2015 album was no longer in the singer and producer's favour, and he was always looking to creatively distance himself from it in the process of his latest material. So after five years of musical experimentation, we finally have his fourth full-length 'The Slow Rush', a record that sees Tame Impala take on a more sombre and tranquil direction.

I guess when you look back at the impact 'Currents' had on the wider music scene, with numerous other outfits emulating its sound in the years since, you can begin to understand why Parker would want to move onto something else so quickly. Thankfully, while 'The Slow Rush' still maintains plenty of that classic Tame Impala psych-rock aesthetic, there is definitely something more going on here. While each track is still rich in that blissful and atmospheric direction, there seems to be an earthy and more progressive angle happening here, as if he is stripping back their conventional sound to its basic core and rebuilding a new range of instrumentation around it.

Whatever he has looked to achieve on 'The Slow Rush', it seems to have paid off in spades as this new release manages to swell and build upon each single with this calm and uplifting grandeur, making for a smooth and highly enjoyable listen. This definitely feels like the beginning of a new phase in the Tame Impala legacy, and it is something that we can all get on board with.