Tame Impala delivers on ‘Slow Rush’

Huey Lewis’ ‘Weather’ may be their last

TBy Ragan Clark

“The Slow Rush” (Interscope Records) Time can be a comfort or curse. It can heal, but it can also compress, building up a pressure that begs for release.

“The Slow Rush” seems to be just that – a discharge of the creative pressure that was mounting after years of fans questioning, “What will Tame Impala do next?”

The success of the psychedelic rock band’s 2015 “Currents” allowed them to become one of the defining rock groups of the last decade. And with this album, they’ve delivered once again.

“The Slow Rush” can be viewed as an analysis of time, wrapped up in a wall of electronics, synthesizers and funk influence that cushion even the most brazen of questions. Beliefs, grudges, insecurities – how do they transform? How does one press on past the comforts of being lost in yesterday?

The album is not only tied by themes of time, but also an overarching feel that singer, writer and producer Kevin Parker is trying to prove something. Whether he’s trying to convince someone else or himself is not always clear.

“Tell everyone I’ll be alright,” he sings on “On Track”, “Because strictly speaking, I’m still on track.”

In “Breathe Deeper” this defensive tone is taken once again – “If you think I couldn’t hold my own, believe me, I can.” These lines are moderated by an upbeat psych-synth sound that masks the melancholy. But song after song the sense of insecurity reappears in the lines sung by Parker.

One of the most brilliant songs on the album is “Posthumous Forgiveness”. Parker fully confronts the complexity of coping with his father’s death, cycling through blame, anger, despair and longing over the course of the 6-minute track.

presented some sexier, sassy looks, from high-shine black vinyl to slinky dresses that hugged the body and featured strategic cut-outs. Jenner strutted in a checked bustier, layered under a semi-sheer white skirt and white boots.

The song is effectively split in two with the first part processing his rage as minor chords on synth are played underneath – “To save all of us, you told us both to trust/But now I know you only saved yourself.”

The song builds, like mounting indignation, only to release. A certain somberness is traded for a more hopeful feel as he recounts moments he wishes he could share with his father – “Wanna tell you ‘bout my life/Wanna play you all my songs.”

The attention to detail on “Posthumous Forgiveness” is mirrored throughout “The Slow Rush”. Parker’s meticulous tendencies pay off, allowing him to create a thoughtful masterpiece.

“One more year,” Parker sings on the opening track. And 12 songs, representative of 12 months, later he concludes: “Whatever I’ve done/I did it for love.”

“Weather” is the first album of original songs from

in nearly two decades and it may also be their last.

Lewis has been suffering for decades from an inner-ear disorder that causes afflictions like hearing loss and vertigo, but the condition got much worse just days after the band finished mixing the songs on “Weather” with legendary studio wizard Bob Clearmountain.

Lewis suddenly lost hearing in both ears before a January 2018 concert in Dallas and it’s been a struggle ever since, putting at risk any more recording sessions and live dates.

Even if it’s just seven songs totaling barely 26 minutes, “Weather” sounds complete nevertheless, with the band’s trademark sounds and usually festive moods present and accounted for.

First single “Her Love is Killin’ Me” feels like a dusted-off classic from their 1980s heyday, and it’s nearly that old, having been written back when guitarist

The beige trench coat – an item synonymous with the brand since founder Thomas Burberry first designed it in weather-proof gabardine fabric more than a century ago – featured, of course. Some came softly draped in a timeless feminine Chris Hayes was still in the band. “While We’re Young”, in light of what is now known, opens the album like a premonition – “Life is short/Let’s take advantage of every opportunity.”

“Pretty Girls Everywhere”, upholds the band’s custom of covers from the 1950’s and ‘60s which goes all the way back to their second album, “Picture This”. They have even recorded two full albums of covers, including their previous studio release, “Soulsville”, a 2010 collection of Stax deep cuts. Here, Eugene Church’s timeless tune includes some rolicking backing vocals and piano.

Acoustic guitar and lap steel bathe “One of the Boys” in country sounds, as it was originally written by Lewis for Willie Nelson. It ends the album on another poignant note – “Playing with my friends/Till the music ends.”

All in all, “Weather” is a short but sweet addition to the Huey Lewis and The News catalog, with its best songs worthy of inclusion in their next “Greatest Hits” package.

“Open

Heart”

Madeira, (Mercyland Records)

The final song on Phil Madeira’s new album is “Monk”, as in Thelonious, and it’s a savory celebration of soul-stirring music rooted in the blues – the sort of sounds that make up “Open Heart”.

On his third fine album in less than two years, the prolific Madeira digs deep with material inspired by a romantic rebound after the death of his longtime girlfriend from cancer. Madeira mixes sweet melancholy with dry wit as he finds the power in healing.

But it takes time for aches to mend, and Madeira wisely chooses an unusually slow tempo for an album opener on “Requiem For a Dream”. The set’s centerpiece comes two songs later with “A Rock On Your Shore”, a gospel-flavored pledge of devotion. (AP)

style; others were much more flamboyant, featuring furry arms and collars. (AP)

KIGALI, Rwanda:

A popular Rwandan gospel musician who in 2015 was found guilty of conspiracy to murder or harm President Paul Kagame was found dead in a police cell Monday in the capital, Kigali, authorities said.

Kizito Mihigo, 38, an ethnic Tutsi survivor of the 1994 genocide that killed more than 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus who tried to protect them, killed himself in the morning hours, a police statement said.

The official account of a suicide was expected to be met with skepticism in a country where the government is frequently accused of targeting perceived critics.

Described by many as Rwanda’s biggest cultural icon and a devout Catholic known for songs promoting healing and forgiveness, Mihigo had been pardoned in 2018 but was re-arrested last week. Police asserted that he had been trying to flee to neighboring Burundi to join groups fighting the Rwandan government.

“He has been in police cell for three days as police investigated why he was crossing the border illegally and cases of bribery,” police spokesman John Bosco Kabera said in a statement. He didn’t respond to calls from The Associated Press. (AP)