Indie Electronic artist Kevin Parker, professionally known as Tame Impala, released his sixth studio album, “Deadbeat,” on Oct. 17, 2025.
The album follows his widely successful albums “Currents,” released in the summer of 2015, and “The Slow Rush,” released in early 2020.
These past albums gained vast critical acclaim, winning 5 ARIA Awards each, so expectations were high for this album.
Parker spontaneously dropped a single called “Loser” with a music video starring “Stranger Things” star Joe Keery, accompanied by another song called “End Of Summer” on Sept. 5, 2025, five years after the release of his last album. The day after releasing “Loser,” Parker announced the release of “Deadbeat.”
From his previous albums, Parker is known for his electronic psychedelic rock sound. In “Deadbeat,” Parker leans into a more electronic sound and expands the classic Tame Impala sound into ‘80s style drum machine and an even wider variety of synths than previous projects. It can almost be described as disco or dance music, marking a distinction from his past albums.
This review rates the three best and worst tracks of the album, eventually leading to a final review.
Three Best Tracks
Piece of Heaven
This song is the best on the album. It builds slowly and intentionally, making it an engaging listen. Its most compelling quality is its ability to put the listener in a good mood. From the dreamy synth, to the ‘80s type drum machine sound, this song is guaranteed to boost your mood. This song should be a hit.
Obsolete
Another strong track on this album, “Obsolete” has a fairly simple but creative beat. The bass line is relatively straightforward but remains groovy. The drum machine percussion is reminiscent of early 2000’s dance music, like Britney Spears and Madonna. The sheer variety of sounds and instruments used in this song is very impressive.
Dracula
“Dracula” is another highlight of the album, and is also the most popular. It’s extremely catchy, and is sure to become an earworm at first listen. It has an incredibly groovy, simple bass line paired with a punchy kick drum. This track blends classic Tame Impala sounds with Parker’s more recent techno-centered inspiration and sound throughout the last couple of years.
Three Worst Tracks
Loser
“Loser” opens on a mysterious plucky synth riff, but fails to ascend into anything special. This track is somewhat anti-climactic and uninteresting, especially following such a strong track like Dracula. It continues on the self-degrading theme that Parker uses throughout the whole album, hence the name “Deadbeat,” but ultimately loses the listener’s attention.
Not My World
Put simply, this is a song the listener could skip. Its plainness and repetitiveness compared to the other, stronger tracks does not make it a meaningful addition to the album. Additionally, vocals drop out in the middle of the song, which loses the listeners interest even more. This song would work best as an interlude, but is too long to take the place of one.
Ethereal Connection
This track is arguably the most boring on the album. It consists of mostly just synth and kick drum, with vocals only entering a little bit before the halfway mark. There isn’t much that stands out about this song, it essentially feels skippable.
Review
The most impressive thing about this album is the production. Some beats on this album are extraordinarily creative and skillful. This isn’t a surprise coming from Tame Impala whatsoever, but the level of craftsmanship was higher than his past albums.
The biggest flaw this album has is its repetitiveness. This album fails in keeping people’s attention toward the middle of the album, which is arguably the most important part of the record. This plays a big role in the mixed reviews it received upon its release.
“Deadbeat” is an overall solid album, but is not great compared to previous Tame Impala releases. This album is under-stimulating and struggles to maintain the listeners’ interest. Arguably one of the most important factors in making a good album, especially nowadays, is keeping attention, which is where Parker failed.
Another factor in the albums’ mixed reviews is the shift in Parker’s style since his last release. His evolving style is not something many of his listeners are fans of.
Overall, the production on this album is very polished, despite the album as a whole being mediocre.
