April release for Tame Impala album?

Late last year Kevin Parker expected the next Tame Impala album to arrive in the northern summer of 2019.

But while no definite release date is announced, indications from the band’s business camp is that it could be earlier – possibly by April when they headline the Coachella festival.

Their US booking agent, Paradigm’s Kevin French told Pollstar overnight, “You can definitely expect it in the coming months!”

He added: “Coachella will be the launching pad for a busy 2019.

“Expect new music, and what I’m sure will be another exciting album campaign.

“I for one am definitely excited to see and hear what Tame comes up with next!”

April would make sense for the still-untitled album’s drop as the Perth band is already set to headline more festivals after.

These include Shaky Knees in Atlanta, Georgia (May), Primavera Sound in Spain (late May), We Love Green in Paris (June), Hurricane in Scheeßel, Germany (June), Southside in Germany (June) and La Route Du Rock in Rennes, France (June).

It would be obvious why Impala fans and festival promoters at least would want the fourth album out by then.

Parker has a strict rule that no song will be played live until it is released on record.

At the same time, there’s a great expectation for Album #4, both in terms of sales and its new sounds.

The last album Currents (July 2015) reached a wider audience, strong on streaming, debuting at #1 in Australia for the first time, #3 in the UK and #4 in the US where it sold 50,000 equivalent units in its first week.

In the Pollstar interview, French noted, “Currents was such a departure from Tame’s previous albums, and it really resonated with a much wider audience.

“Tame Impala (were) always described as “psych rock,” and while they were becoming a really big act with the success of Lonerism, Currents came out and blew everyone away with its synths and soul and just fucking amazing, catchy songs.

“Over the past couple of years, Kevin has been collaborating with and producing some of the biggest names in pop and hip hop, so that’s also had a huge impact on Tame Impala’s growth.”

It’ll be interesting to see how collaborating with Theophilus London, ZHU and Mark Ronson will impact on Impala’s latest sounds.

Let’s not forget Daft Punk, whom Parker regarded as the top of the list of people he’d love to work with.

Last year he said he held the French duo in “absolutely legendary regard,” adding: “They’re so god-like to me, but I don’t even know what I’d do or how I’d do it with them.”