Currents

Australian rock band Tame Impala's first two records, 2010's Innerspeaker and 2012's Lonerism, are psych-rock affairs that sizzle with high-end synthesizers, crunch with fuzzy guitars and swirl with all conceivable studio effects turned up to 11. The band's third album, Currents, isn't nearly as dense, particularly on the seven-minute neo-disco opener “Let It Happen” and the titanic break-up song “Eventually.” The sounds are more subtle, given more space and have moved deeper toward the back of the headphones. Compared with the noise palette of 1960s psychedelia that frontman/mastermind Kevin Parker exclusively favored on previous records, his newfound interest in electro-pop—you can hear Michael Jackson's influence in the punctuated gasp between the chorus and verse in the breezy, sleazy “'Cause I'm a Man”—represents a departure that doesn't feel like a stretch. That's because Parker has always composed his guitar-based music with an electronic producer's meticulous layer-by-layer approach. Guitars are almost entirely absent now, but Parker's uncanny hook craftsmanship is still front and center, and his introspective lyricism has grown more poignant (hear “Yes I'm Changing”). Such emotionally impactful songwriting doesn't usually come wrapped in glossy, impeccably produced grooves—and that's why Currents is a strong candidate for album of the year.