Even after several repeated listens, I still have not been able to fully embrace Tame Impala’s latest album, Currents.  With their previous efforts (Lonerism and Innerspeaker), each spin created a new favorite track, which speaks to the depth of each record.  On the other hand, I think of Currents as one brilliant song followed by many decent-to-good tracks.  But goddamn, how great is that one song?

At 7 minutes and 47 seconds, “Let It Happen” is the longest song in the Tame Impala catalog, but not by much; the band regularly traffics in songs that clock in at around five minutes, with a few running a bit longer at six and seven minutes.  So, it is not just the fact that Tame Impala wrote a long song that is impressive, but that they wrote a long song that captivates the listener’s attention in such a way that they could make it the opening track and lead single for their new album.  That takes a special skill.

For about three minutes, “Let It Happen” meshes a smooth bass groove, a glitchy funk guitar lick, and an insistent kick drum to create a chill yet catchy dance number.  Kevin Parker then introduces a descending synth melody, and uses this new hook to seemingly signal that the song is about to fade out.  As one anticipates the fade out, the track appears to skip, with a beat stuck in a repetitive loop.  After a few seconds, the listener realizes this was done on purpose, as Parker throws in a rising string melody as a direct comment on the previous hook.  This new melody is then put into a repetitive loop on its concluding beat, and after processing that beat through a few extra effects, the song returns to the previous descending synth melody once again.  With the second repeating section, it almost as if the two melodies are locked in combat, with the original winning out in the end.  The song then rides this last melody to the end, with a few additional touches.

Perhaps the best part is that once the listener knows what happens at the end of the song, it is possible to pick up on clues that appear in earlier sections.  If one listens to the drums, one can notice that a few of the patterns have slight glitches or slight deviations, with other parts offering more overt clues as the song progresses.  Not only does the song’s catchiness inspire repeated spins, but it rewards careful listening as well.