Let It Happen – Tame Impala 

Currents, an album by Australian artist Kevin Parker, widely known as Tame impala, is an album about change – the “currents” refers to the transition that carries us all through different stages of life. Every detail of the album applies to this theory, for example; the music in the album shows a noticeable style shift in terms of musical elements from the “Old” Tame Impala, where he used guitar and more synths. The lyrics (song titles like “Yes I’m Changing”) and even the cover art (a psychedelic representation of “vortex shedding”). Much of the album’s lyrics revolve around romantic change, and it’s often referred to as a breakup album. While this is evident, the “breakup” label minimizes the universality of Currents’ themes. 

 “Let It Happen” introduces both the lyrical themes of change and the sonic, electronic-based change of the album itself. “Let It Happen” is ominous, chaotic and beautiful all at the same time. The track contains some of Parker’s most universal lyrics. “It’s always around me, all this noise” could apply to many things: overwhelming stress, anxiety, foreboding change. The “noise” flutters constantly in Kevin’s mind in the visual form of a “whirlwind” that will consume everything that is not metaphorically tethered to the ground. The “whirlwind” is a climactic moment of change, perhaps a long-awaited one. But Parker’s response is not to stamp out the noise, run from the whirlwind. He instead repeats a simple phrase: “let it happen.” He will allow the change to consume him and go through it confidently. Lyrically, “Let It Happen” grandly introduces the theme of the album and leads into the first act of Currents, High Tide. I wanted to write my essay on this topic as I find Tame Impala’s music deeply interesting and inspires me to create music of my own.

Citations

Echard, William. “Delineating Psychedelia: Topic Theory and Popular Music Cultures.” Psychedelic Popular Music: A History through Musical Topic Theory, by William Echard, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2017, pp. 5–9.

Weiner, Jonah. “The Cosmic Healing of Tame Impala.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 11 June 2019, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tame-impala-band-kevin-parker-836938/.