Gig review: Tame Impala, Barrowland, Glasgow

ANNOUNCING their presence with a thundering electro psychedelic intro, the Tame Impala who slayed Barrowland were a far cry from the meek beasts who looked like they were barely conscious when they first played T in the Park five years ago.

Tame Impala. Picture: Contributed

Tame Impala

Barrowland, Glasgow

Rating: ****

Since then, this Australian outfit have worked on their festival presence to the extent that introverted/horizontal frontman Kevin Parker even managed a few not entirely convincing exhortations to “put your hands in the air”.

Actually, there is much that is euphoric about this new, improved Impala. The band have beefed up their melodic muscles to create the neon-lit electro romanticism of new album Currents. Parker’s main theme continues to be relationships and how he just can’t get them right but, like the shrewd pop alchemist that he is, his personal angst is played out across a succession of alluring tunes which are anything but hard work.

His plaintive, reedy voice enhanced the hazy soul of the music, from early track It Is Not Meant To Be right up to the beseeching dreamy plea of I’m A Man Woman, which has to be the least testosterone-fuelled statement of masculinity ever, sung with ecstatic release by both sexes in a crowd who were determined to make the most of every second of this ninety-minute set.

The band responded with the heavy psychedelic boogie of Elephant, singalong encore Feels Like We Only Go Backwards and heroic epic Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control. Not so tame after all.