Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Supplied

Indie tastemaking website Pitchfork has released a list of 200 songs it believes defined the 2010’s.

Of the 200, two were Tame Impala‘s.

‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ ranked #192. “Stripped down to melody and lyrics, ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards,’ from 2012’s Lonerism, is a crushing meditation on dashed hopes and rejection,” staff writer Marc Hogan contends. “You can hear why Kendrick Lamar, fresh off the contradictory impulses of his hit ‘Swimming Pools (Drank)’, was drawn to rap over the song. And you can hear how Parker, in the span of a decade, went from headphones auteur to Coachella headliner.”

‘Let It Happen’ arrived closer to #1 clocking in at #47. “- with this heavy slab of space disco, Parker decidedly broke free of any preconceived notions about his abilities,” writer Noah Yoo asserts. “The riff—a simple, octave-leaping groove—stands alone, but the punchy drums and elaborate synth arrangements throughout cleared the stage for Tame Impala to claim their place as true psych-rock originals.”

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’ took out the #1 place.

As Pitchfork readers may know, the website has long supported Tame Impala, with InnerSpeaker, Lonerism and Currents receiving favorable 8.5, 9.0 and 9.3 album reviews respectively.

The website first turned its ears to Tame in 2010, when writer Larry Fitzmaurice – describing the group as a three-piece – reviewed early single ‘Solitude Is Bliss’.