Deadbeat
Top Track: Dracula
Dracula first caught my attention at a Halloween-themed pub quiz one fall evening last year. The harmonically stacked motifs opening the track drew me in. Not even 10 seconds into the track, the melody drops off into an addictive kick drum keeping tempo, and various (somewhat comedic) percussive elements decorating repeated harmonic patterns. Not sure if I’m just leaning into a confirmation bias here, but I definitely felt some elements of Michael Jackson’s thriller creeping into this track - I promise I don’t think all Halloween-y music is the same.
Tame Impala is an artist whose name has definitely popped up a lot through my adolescence and university eras, but I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I had never quite delved into this Australian multi-instrumentalist’s discography before. About a decade ago, I had heard about his dance-music-heavy album that was critically acclaimed, and I’d been tuned into the rumours that this album was leaning more into that genre.
His reputation of being a fairly experimental musician definitely preceded him - which is basically what I was expecting with this album. With every listen through of this album however, I felt myself feeling increasingly confused about my feelings towards it; this was soon vindicated by various reviews I read online, pulling together a drastic range of feedback throughout the industry.
A notable musical repetition in this album is definitely the use of a 4/4 metre in most of the music (if not all). While not accentuated in the same rhythmic patterns or instrumentation, this realisation definitely did weaken the overall listening experience for me - possibly rich of me to be so critical, but I do enjoy a bit of variation, especially for a holistic listening experience.
Personally, this album - though I’m led to believe was intended for a sort of outdoor festival/rave/EDM vibe - falls flat on that element for me. I can’t quite picture how it can be re-created live in an engaging enough manner for me to consider attending. Though I’m not a hater of the album, I think this is much more of a ‘background track’ album for me - something to put on while my mind is busy elsewhere. However, with most polarising albums that get put out into the industry, I have a feeling that there will be a renaissance of this album - whether through a TikTok trend, or a change in context.
