Tame Impala - Deadbeat
Electronic – Released October 17, 2025 – 12 songs, 56 mins
ROZ
This week’s review is a monumental one, as Too Sweet Reviews finally get to sink their fangs into the blog-beloved artist Kevin Parker and his music project Tame Impala. It can be argued that his 2015 album Currents is one of the best albums of the 21st century, and while TSR never reviewed it (nor his 2020 follow-up The Slow Rush) we’ve ensured that his newest album would find itself caught in our net. Five more years have passed since The Slow Rush, and we’re primed and ready to go. This week, with much excitement, the boys look at Tame Impala’s fifth studio album, Deadbeat.
Days pass, and a cold, depressing reality slaps me straight in across face. You see, unfortunately, Deadbeat is monumental in the fact that it finally shows you that Kevin Parker is actually human after all. After a decade of acclaimed releases, the Tame Impala project may very well have jumped the shark as we see Parker shed himself of his former skin in order to test the waters in the genre of electronic dance music. Now when I say, ‘test the waters’, what I really mean is ‘dive head-first’, as throughout the album’s fifty-six-minute runtime the only song that sounds remotely similar to previous efforts is opening track My Old Ways. Parker has always been an artist that evolved and pivoted when it came to his sound, so a sonic switch up was always assumed. As an individual who produces dance music and excessively listens to all things dance music, I was over the moon when I saw clips circling around social media of Parker jumping on the decks at music festivals to rinse out one of his new tracks on a set of industry standard Pioneer CDJ’s. His heightened sense for groove, his keen ear for interesting soundscapes and his extremely obsessive ways (as can be seen by his last minute edits for released tracks and straight up removal of some last minute, looking at you Patience) led me to believe that this would be the best electronic album of 2025. By the end of a full week of listening, I found myself wishing that I passed my seat to someone else – this was a trip to space that I could have done without.
Now, there are silver linings visible across the album, but they are few and far between. Dracula finds strength in a pristine production, however lyrically it leaves much to be desired. Oblivion places Parker in unfamiliar waters as he incorporates a two-step pulse and heavy kick drum akin to sub-genres such as reggaeton and afro house. While the risk is commendable, the song feels soulless and Parker’s performance feels out of place. The aptly titled Not My World feels like a cheap knock-off of an old Fred again.. song, ten, off his 2024 album ten days – as if Parker found a Fred again.. sample pack online and utilized the entire sound bank. Obselete has the stylings of an early 2000’s RnB banger and while I don’t think the song is lyrically strong, it would only be a redundant point considering the overall lack of this crucial element across the entire album. Nonetheless, Parker's abilities as a percussionist come into play for this song, which gives me that warm feeling of ‘damn, what could have been if he tapped into this more’. Ethereal Connection should, for all intents and purposes, be the one I gravitate towards the most, as four-on-the-floor beats melt down alongside syncopated synth patterns and pulsating pads. This is the sound I fully expected to get on the record, albeit at a much higher level of writing and production. Parker's whimsy, stylized vocal actually hits well on this one, to the point that if it wasn’t for the lack of variation and ear candy across its lengthy run time, it could very well have been the best of the bunch. Closing track End Of Summer falls to this exact same fate, solidifying my theory that this truly is a case of a very talented artist simply trying a new sound and just not getting it right at all.
As an avid fan of the genre and for this man, I appreciate his interest and commitment to writing, producing and performing a dance music record. Unlike his previous efforts however, the places he pulls his inspiration from feels almost too on the nose, to the point where barely anything feels like ‘Tame Impala’ at all. Where’s the lyrical craftsmanship? Where’s that psychedelic edge? What I would have really liked to see was some more collaboration with well known names on the electronic music scene, much as he did with Justice on their album Hyperdrama. Perhaps he could have even linked with an up-and-coming producer (he’s not shy to collaboration on this album, after all) to create mutually beneficial works that would have given him more reps in the format while also lifting up someone who would clearly benefit from his supreme talents as an artist. Collaborations could lead to a single or two, and then maybe, just maybe, this could lead to a robust, fresh, interesting electronic dance album in the future. That type of approach could have lead to an amazing record – Deadbeat is unfortunately not that record. Was he rushed? Was he pressured? This would be a much easier pill to swallow compared to the hard truth: perhaps Kevin Parker ended up making an extremely mediocre album all on his own, with zero outside factors impacting his choices.
How can this be? Why hast thou forsaken me, Kevin? Mediocrity. Blatant, shameless mediocrity. While Parker’s musical evolution is always a guarantee, his stroll into the world of electronic dance music feels hollow at its worst and half-hearted at its best.
Overall Rating: 6.0/10
Favourite Song: Obsolete
LUNDI
This week’s record is so polarizing to the artist’s devout fan base that the pitchforks aren’t just out for poor execution, they are delivering an even lower blow calling for the genre pivot album to be released under a pseudonym. That’s right, fans are so full of displeasure with Tame Impala’s Deadbeat that the roar is loud for Kevin Parker to straight up remove it from his TI discography. The internet continues to be straight up insane and I love it, but in this case I don’t think it’s overly wrong for the hate. Respect to Parker for making an album that’s in line with his current sonic interests but Deadbeat is dull, perplexing and shallow. A prodigal like musical figure has turned from innovation to trend following. A disastrous fifth album from one of music’s most accomplished artists.
Deadbeat is clothing store level music at its best. Its basic sound and structure is whimsical enough on the surface that it’s possible to have some mind numbing fun as background noise, but it’s only lasting impression when tuned in is just how forgettable and repetitive the entire product is. Priding himself as never listening to external music during record development, Parker’s most recent album is chock full of song ideas done a thousand times over. Sure every artist has influences but Deadbeat feels like Tame Impala copied the EDM homework.
In theory, Parker’s ode to dance music was a killer idea. He’s one of the most apt producers, has a keen sense of sound development and engineering, and can play almost any instrument. This could have easily been a Jamie XX or LCD Soundsystem adjacent level dance record, but instead we got a day at the Coachella Yuma tent without any of the people, light shows, and good vibes. Basic drum loops, cringey lyrics, and a startling lack of musicianship. I don’t want to discredit those who pour their heart into making that type of music, because I could certainly never do it and it is very enjoyable in the right situation but for Tame Impala it’s impossible not to consider the career circumstances when breaking down this latest album.
Choosing to forego any natural instrumentation for base house drum arrangements is the most unforgivable element. Parker won’t be named amongst the best drummers ever but he was a master of pop percussion with clever infills and beat switches scattered throughout his previous works. Even with The Slow Rush, an album that in hindsight foreshadowed this direction, he delivered meaningful new ideas that blended together as a cohesive album. Point to any of his prior albums and we see innovation and nuance, a strategic piece of art. There was always some magic in it even if it wasn’t for you. Deadbeat flips the narrative. A record that just doesn’t have it. Corny, guilty pleasure level music.
Despite the disappointment of Parker wasting his production talents the beats are never ‘what the hell is this’ bad, so had Parker taken the time to write some meaningful lyrics on Deadbeat, we may be talking differently here, but bar after bar comes questionable references and vague insights. Each track feels like he was in the booth doing improv vocals just to warm up the chords but stuck with the nonsense in the end. Hell he even felt so disassociated with these songs that he pawned the lyrics to four tracks off to someone else. To think the man once so obsessive over the precision of every single album element he did everything himself from start to finish now uses pre-packaged beats and external writers is just mesmerizing and brutal. At least he still has the kick-ass auto-tuned vocal in check.
Deadbeat is a half measured, shallow dance record that finds one of this generations most influential musicians lost in his love for pop music. Tame Impala’s fifth record is a messy, one dimensional head scratcher.
Overall Rating: 5.8/10
Favourite Song: My Old Ways
REID
It was Valentine’s Day 2020 and I was on the way to Fred’s Records to do something I rarely do. Purchase the new Tame Impala vinyl on its release day. Typically I’ll wait out an album to ensure it stands the test of time but Lundi, Roz and I (pre-TSR) were still riding the high from Kevin Parker’s otherworldly Osheaga 2019 performance. This new record was the follow up to the incredible Currents (2015), there were four good to great singles out and he was one of my favourite artists at the time. So I spent the money and The Gold Rush era was officially underway.
Unfortunately the unpredictable happened, as a global pandemic began shortly after the release. A year after headlining premiere music festivals like Primavera Sound, Coachella and Osheaga (amongst others), Parker could not tour his new album. The world, along with his momentum, came to a screeching halt.
Fast-forward five years and a lot has changed. Parker and his wife now have two young daughters, Peach (four years) and Rose (five months). Consequently, appearances have been scarce outside a handful of collaborations with Gorillaz, Thundercat, Dua Lipa and Justice. Solo Tame Impala felt like a thing of the past and his once booming growth had all but flatlined. That was until this summer when Parker began the rollout of his fifth studio album, Deadbeat. He released three singles to a head-scratching consensus as he sought a new creative direction. Fans hoped the full body of work would uncover his best new material. Sadly that wasn’t the case.
Parker elected to take his talents the route of electronic dance music and the result is a creative mess. He may have effectively swapped from instrument rock to synth led, dance music on Currents (2015) but this change did not even come close to having the same impact. Other than being from the same artist, there’s no cohesion through the tracklist. It doesn’t feel like an album at all. No interludes, no transitions between songs, no themes. No symmetry. Nothing. It feels disconnected, almost like a twelve-song shuffle.
Having to choose my favourite song for the blog really drove home the point. Afterthought, See You on Monday, My Old Ways and Loser just don’t hit hard. Simple as that. The Michael Jackson-inspired bassline in the former of the tracks is fun but otherwise there just isn’t much to connect with. They’re empty, repetitive and have no staying power. End of Summer, Ethereal Connection and My Own World are his attempts at late night techno but again, there’s nothing standout about them. Truthfully the second half of the latter track is my favourite two minutes of the whole album as it takes you on a cool synth journey. But I don’t know what he was thinking with the first two minutes so that’s out. Piece of Heaven may be a tearjerker for him and his wife and their parental journey but it probably should’ve stayed in their journal. Cringe. Oblivion has the weird latin percussion thing going on, which feels like an odd one-off. Obsolete has potential but the lyrics are awful. I haven’t even touched on the overall songwriting, which is especially lackluster following recent reviews of Wednesday and Geese. I ended up on Dracula, which likely holds up as the biggest bop but like, does this slot in after Thriller and Monster Mash on my October playlist? I can’t believe my favourite tune from the new Tame Impala record could double as a Halloween song. Never would have believed you if you told me that five years ago. But here we are. Knowing the depth of his past work, the tracks are astonishingly pedestrian.
So what went wrong? The most glaring change for Parker over the last decade is parenthood and all the challenges that come with it. Throw in his constant desire for change and pressure from the label for a new album and you’re left with Deadbeat. That’s my theory anyway. These songs wouldn’t have passed the litmus test of 2015 Kevin Parker.
Deadbeat is a poorly composed collection of uninspired songs. One can speculate reasons for the dramatic fall off from one of the most talented producers of the 2010s. No matter how you fill in the blanks, it’s disappointing.
Overall Rating: 5.5/6.0
Favourite Song: Dracula