Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Susanne (class of 2026) and features Tame Impala’s third studio album Currents. Thanks, Susanne!
Tame Impala’s 2015 album Currents feels like the sound of someone who is mid-transformation. Kevin Parker traded in a lot of the psychedelic guitar sounds from earlier records for more R&B-influenced rhythms, pulsing basslines, and disco-esque dancing songs.
Underneath the shiny production is a super personal record about change: falling out of love, figuring yourself out, and realizing you’re not the same person you used to be. Tracks like “Let It Happen” and “Eventually” feel like emotional checkpoints, while “The Less I Know the Better” somehow turns awkward heartbreak into the perfect indie-dance anthem. The swirling, vortex-inspired artwork on the album captures the sense of motion and evolution throughout the tracks.
What makes Currents stick out to me is how human it feels despite all the polished production. Parker recorded most of it himself, and you can hear that obsessive attention to detail in every sound, beat, and vocal. It’s an album about letting go of control while also carefully crafting every sound, which is a contradiction that works kind of beautifully. Years later, it still feels like the perfect soundtrack for big life shifts: moving on, growing up, or just sitting with the weird mix of excitement and sadness that comes with change.