Tame Impala are the best Australian band since heavies like the Birthday Party and the Scientists were stirring up shit in the early 1980s. But this Perth trio works in a much more ethereal vein than those groups, as guitarist Kevin Parker’s angelic voice rises effortlessly to the heights of his mates’ stratospheric shoegaze-rock symphonies. On their phenomenal debut album, Innerspeaker, judiciously sweetened melodies gush forth in a honeyed cyclone of sound. Meet the new Wizards of Oz. (Neumos, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467, 8 pm, $12, all ages)
Dave Segal is a journalist and DJ living in Seattle. He has been writing about music since 1983. His stuff has appeared in Gale Research’s literary criticism series of reference books, Creem (when... More by Dave Segal
bullshit dave segal. you just missed SO MANY amazing australian pop bands. yes, tame impala is spectacular, but to skip 2 decades of incredible talent is boorish and misleading.
Tame Impala is badass. Nice wordplay there with Wizards of Oz… I like it.
@1, thanks for saying what I was afraid to. Besides, The Birthday Party weren’t really all that great. Aussie pop is all about the Go-Betweens, and what came after (Sugargliders, Simpletons, Lucksmiths).
@1 and @3
I love the Go-Betweens—just spaced on ’em.
Also, newsflash/shocka: Not everyone shares the same exact musical taste as you. Ponder that heavy thought for a minute.