Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press

With Tame Impala‘s Currents finding a place in both Stereogum and Consequence of Sound‘s ‘Top 100 Albums of the Decade’ lists Cosmic editorial has been greeted with a common complaint.

“The heck? Why didn’t they pick Lonerism instead?”

Well, dear Tame fans, consider yourself satisfied because Vice has put together and a little list of their own.

And yes, it’s Tame Impala’s second album Lonerism and not its third Currents which has made the cut, ranking in at #13

“All three albums Kevin Parker released as Tame Impala has succeeded on their own terms,” Vice‘s Josh Terry writes. “2010’s InnerSpeaker offered a glimpse into the Australian’s heady and companionless studio perfectionism, subverting hazy psych-rock song structures into something wholly mesmerizing. 2015’s Currents, with its synths and funky inclinations, turned the band into a stadium-ready crossover force, complete with a Rihanna cover and headlining Coachella slots.”

Terry then hits in on what many Tame Impala fans know to be true.

“But it was the middle album in his catalog,” he contends, “that marked his transition from a psych-weirdo to one of the most influential and ubiquitous voices in contemporary rock music.”

“2012’s Lonerism retained the heavily layered and wonky pedalboard effects of his debut,” he continues, “but it transferred those tools to a more contemporary context. Songs like ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards‘ were nostalgia-pop enough to draw comparisons to the Beatles or the Kinks, but the arrangements felt firmly planted in the now, hinting at the electronic direction he’d pursue on subsequent material. On the sprawling ‘Apocalypse Dreams,’ Parker sings: ‘Everything is changing / And there’s nothing I can do / My world is turning pages / While I am just sitting here,’ over a bed of synths and guitars that blur into each other. Lines like these make for some of the most moving moments on Lonerism, highlighting what is ultimately one of his biggest contributions to music this decade: taking his own feelings of social isolation and anxiety and making them feel universal.”

Solange‘s Seat at the Table ranked #1.

Tame Impala‘s fourth album The Slow Rush will be gracing your speakers Valentine’s Day 2020.

You can read Vice‘s full list here.