Significant longplayers from yesteryear
21 May 2025
Australian psych-pop act TAME IMPALA, the sonic baby of mastermind, singer,
songwriter, musician, record producer, and DJ KEVIN PARKER released their
debut album INNERSPEAKER on 21 May 2010, this day 15 years ago.
Originally, Parker intended to make it a double album, but eventually lacked
the motivation to do so. Many of the songs demos intended for the double LP
were later leaked onto YouTube in unmixed form.
The LP’s artwork from Australian artist Leif Podhajsky features an image of
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, actually the border between
North Carolina and Tennessee, in the USA.
The album got lots of critical acclaim, with many praising Parker‘s ability to put a
modern spin on elements of 1960s psychedelic rock, creating a new and original
sound.
Pitchfork said: “These Australians have crafted an assured and accomplished album
that integrates an array of psych rock references into a powerful whole. This is very much an album’s album– it sounds best as a piece, where you can get lost in its heady expanse. When an album is able to tinker with and update familiar textures and moods without blurring the lines too much or just plain overdoing it, you can believe that psych fans will be asking for it to be thrown on regardless. If you’re smart, you’ll oblige them.” Score: 8.5/10.
KEY SINGLE
ALBUM