One of my favorite things about Tame Impala’s "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" is how there's a little stutter of bass at the beginning that simulates a record skipping without any of the harsh clipping that normally comes along with that sound. It's a moment that outlines the mission statement of the song and the repetitive nature of our own weird thought processes. We're doomed to repeat the same things over and over without ever fully realizing it. It doesn't have to be a bleak concept, though. Maybe it's just human nature. It's those kinds of questions that the song brings forth, and while it's catchy as hell, that idea is its main arc. The video, directed by Joe Pelling and Becky Sloan, is gorgeous and virtually drips with super bright colors to the point that you almost want to wipe your computer screen. Like the song itself, darker ideas are thinly veiled. Here, that claustrophobic stuck-inside-your-own-head-for-way-too-long feeling is painted as an endless series of heads inside of heads inside of heads. Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker might be singing about the endless loop of optimism and disappointment of life, but no one ever said that moment can't be beautiful. Tame Impala's Lonerism is out right now on Modular. Read the FADER #82 cover story on the band right here.
