Album: Lonerism
Year: 2012
. . .
The first thing I learned — or maybe it was something I’d forgotten — was that Tame Impala was the nom de band of a Aussie named Kevin Parker rather than an actual band. You know, like “Prince” or “Todd Rundgren.” The combination of which isn’t so far from the post-millennial psychedelic stew Parker brewed up on his second album, 2012’s Lonerism.
Said stew was powerful enough for Lonerism to be one of the biggest indie stories of that year, and while Tame Impala are hardly household words, the post Lonerism albums have actually sold better than you might expect, with 2015’s Currents actually going platinum in 2020.
Anyways, while there where three singles released from Lonerism, none of them were “Keep on Lying,” the song that stuck with me. And believe me, it makes sense that it wasn’t a single, because it definitely structured to be a deep cut, fading in from eternity with bouncing keyboards, a steady & unremarkable beat and Parker’s impossibly ethereal vocals on the chorus. Which the song leads with.
All I give are little clues
Maybe, one day, I’ll get through
But there is nothing I can do
I’ll just keep on lying to you
Ah, but once again, I’m not really listening to “Keep On Lying,” because they’re just more atmosphere in a song that is far more about the sound than about the song. And so, after just a couple minutes, the vocals stop and and Parker plays a deceptively raggedy solo — over scads of echoed backfround voices talking and laughing — each note not really sure how it got there and before it can figure that out, it’s replaced by another that’s even more confused.
That though, is just a fake, as Parker settles on a cool, hooky riff, and then repeats if about a zillion times through various guitar alterators, while the voices continue to laugh and the keyboards cascade and the beat just stays in a straight line. At one point, he breaks things up again with an explosion of guitar notes but then heads right back to the comfort of his hooky riff right through the fade-out. And yeah, I’m a sucker for songs that fade in and fade out, like they’ve existed forever but we only get to spend a short amount of time with them.
This is, of course, the kind of thing that often drives people crazy, but I think it was compelling deep cuts like “Keep on Lying” that helped Lonerism get tons of critical acclaim, topping more than one year-end poll and coming in at #6 — just above Swans and just below Miguel — on that year’s Pazz & Jop critics poll. Also, it was nominated for a Grammy in Best Alternative Music Album category, where it lost to Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of The City. That was probably made up for by winning Album of the Year in three different Australian Awards shows.
“Keep on Lying”
“Keep on Lying” Live on KCRW, 2012
“Keep on Lying” Live at Coachella, 2013
“Keep on Lying” Live on KCRW, 2012
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