Two albums in and I feared all was lost.

I still remember the day I was first serenaded by Kevin Parker. He was constantly there for me, his psychedelic loops reassuring me in my every move. Yet I’ve got a dark secret. As time wore on, I lost faith. I will be honest: Lonerism just didn’t work for me after some time. I mean don’t get me wrong, many of the tracks were stunningly hypnotic, and Parker’s guitar ability is still massively underappreciated in the wider music community today. Overall, though, something was lacking. Psychedelic rock was becoming popular fast, and as time wore on I feared that Tame Impala’s days of progressivity were behind them – that they were doomed to be dismissed as just another sixties tribute band.

How wrong I was.

Currents is a work of majesty, and a reinvention of psychedelic rock as we know it. Causing controversy with loyal fans since the day of its release, there is little denying the fact that Tame Impala have reinvented their sound. Indeed, the theme of change is increasingly apparent with every listen. The opening track, 'Let It Happen', a swirling crescendo of sound, screams "This is who we are now, deal with it". Contrasting with the softer, melodious beat of ‘Yes I’m Changing’, the message is still just the same, the lyrics making the point crystal clear: “Yes I’m older, yes I’m moving on”. Musicians change – indeed, part of the charm of music is its constant state of evolution. For Parker, that explanation is obvious, and it is his justification through the defiantly experimental nature of Currents.

There is little avoiding the recurring theme of isolation that was so present in their earlier works, Innerspeaker and Lonerism. Much has been made of the argument that this is a break-up album, in light of Parker’s recent split from Melody Prochet of Melody’s Echo Chamber.  Despite denial of this, there is defiance in Currents; pent up bitterness and frustration that infuses the music with a frenetic energy which transcends the mere label of ‘break-up album’.

The ambiguity of the album’s sound is mirrored in the lack of a clear beginning and end, with the chaos creating one communal rising and falling of reverb and layering. Yet despite having no real order, the distinctive nature of Currents is still ever-present. For starters, the heavily relied-upon guitar of Lonerism has vanished completely, the opening track ‘Let It Happen’ being an eight minute ride of looping electronics and driving drum beat. Only in ‘Gossip’ and ‘Disciples’ does Parker’s iconic riff-filled guitar playing begin to make an appearance. Even then, it’s different: broken and fragmented from its usual ebullient presence in ‘Gossip’, reserved and controlled in ‘Disciples’. Noticeably, these tracks are both less than two minutes in length.

After the explosive introduction of ‘Let It Happen’, the following tracks on the album are a mellow affair. ‘Nangs’ and ‘Past Life’ focus heavily on a synth-ladden sound, the latter melding spoken word with shoegazing waves of vocals. Parker has always been a talented lyricist, and this is reaffirmed in ‘Yes I’m Changing’, ‘Love/Paranoia’ and the anthemic ‘Eventually’. The ballad-like quality of these three tracks creates an interlude of reflection in the album, again drawing attention to the internal angst of our lead vocalist.

Despite the apparent emotional complexity and intricacy of these tracks, however, there is also a new, lighter dimension to Tame Impala, with Parker drawing upon his dabbling in other projects between albums and his genuine interest in pop music. ‘The Moment’ and ‘The Less I Know The Better’ are both examples of this, with an upbeat, clear melody riding above a sound that would usually drown out the vocals to leave mere psychedelic mumbling and gibberish. Parker plays upon this vocal clarity in ‘Cause I’m A Man’ and ‘New Person, Same Old Mistakes’, to create a smouldering, RnB and soul-inflected sound that contrasts nicely with the hip-hop undertones of tracks such as ‘Past Life’.

As with any experiment, you learn through trial and error. Currents is not a smooth-flowing experience. It is tumultuous and disjointed, nothing ever quite fitting together. Yet this is all part of the Tame Impala experience. Those who criticise the album invest too much in the concept of psychedelic rock being defined by Parker’s guitar playing and Lonerism as an album. The nature of such a genre is to evolve, to explore, and to experiment. Currents is an expression of artistic freedom and a demonstration of musical potential. At 29 years old, Kevin Parker is demonstrating his true capabilities as a musician. This album is his personal revolution.