[rating=10.00]
Three years ago, psych-rockers Tame Impala released their signature opus “Apocalypse Dreams,” the sprawling centerpiece of their second LP, Lonerism. But they’ve matched its brilliance with new single “Let It Happen,” a seven-minute epic with not one second misspent. The song burrows in deep within the first 30 seconds, with a jittery MGMT-styled keyboard riff layered over a hypnotic baseline and sparse handclaps. Other highlights: the “CD skip” groove starting at 3:50, the flanging drums at the 4:44 mark that could herald a Michael Jackson hologram dance clinic, the melted guitar tone that kicks in at the 6:15 mark, and the blissfully unintelligible outro lyrics that recall Unknown Mortal Orchestra at their most psych.
Lyric-wise, frontman Kevin Parker is still in thrall to his dual muses, Solitude and Isolation. Oppressive noise still surrounds him, but above the clamor is a voice saying, “let it happen.” Some smothering, coming-up-from-the-bends-type compression around the one-minute mark takes us deeper than ever into the headspace of King Loner. This section recalls a dream state, a mood reinforced by lyrics which also tangentially recall a certain Lennon/McCartney classic: “I can hear an alarm / Must be morning.” If “Apocalypse Dreams” is Tame Impala’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Let It Happen” is their “A Day in the Life.”
