Tame Impala's Kevin Parker Discusses 'Elephant' - "That Song Paid for Half My House"

With the release of their third studio LP, Currents, on the horizon, Tame Impala has been slowly releasing track after track while front man Kevin Parker reminisces on their previous work.

While being profiled by Grantland, Parker explained how he no longer likes the band's lighthearted and popular single, "Elephant," describing the song's shoot to success as "bittersweet." He stated, "It's a little bittersweet because, like, that song paid for half my house."

The Australian singer continued to detail his personal issues with the sound portrayed on the bands second LP, Lonersim, and how those weaknesses were mended on their anticipated third album. "There was so much top end sonically [on Lonerism] - that sizzling guitar, sizzling synths, the drums are blasting. I realized you can't turn it up too loud before it's just burning your ears," he said. "I wanted to make an album that you could just turn up really loud, with a throbbing rhythm to it."

Parker detailed Currents as the most pop sounding material ever cultivated by the five-piece. "I've always liked pop music. I love what it does to my brain, and I've shut it out for a long time. The more I question myself about why I think pop is taboo, the more I realize it's not."

Currents is due out on July 17, following up their 2012 sophomore album, Lonerism, and their 2010 debut, Innerspeaker. The LP paves the way into a more dance-friendly sound with pop tendencies as Kevin Parker recently told NME, "I wanted to make something that from the sound of it could be down at the club. I just realised that I'd never heard Tame Impala played somewhere with a dancefloor or where people were dancing."

Australian natives Kevin Parker, Dominic Simper, Jay Watson, Cam Avery and Barbagallo will head to the UK and Ireland for a handful of shows:

Electric Picnic Festival (September 4)
End Of The Road Festival (5
Glasgow Barrowland (8)
Liverpool Olympia (9)
Isle of Wight Bestival (10)

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Tame Impala, Kevin parker
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