Tame Impala: Filling the Void

Mick Jagger said he would call at 8 p.m.; the phone rang right on time. Kevin Parker, also known as the mastermind behind the Perth, Australia-based pulsating rock ‘n’ roll project Tame Impala, answered. Without even an assistant to formally introduce the two, there was Jagger’s voice – and the legend it belonged to was ready to discuss a remix for a song on a recent solo record. 

“It was surreal,” Parker says. “But (Jagger) made it easy for me because he was so nice. We talked about the song and how he wrote it and we talked about what I could do with it. We had a couple of phone calls. I was expecting someone to connect the calls but it was just him, like, ‘Hello!’” 

Parker highlights the uncommon interaction on one of the more poignant tracks from the latest Tame Impala record, The Slow Rush, released on Feb. 14. The song, “Posthumous Forgiveness,” is about his deceased father, who first introduced Parker to music, playing guitar around the house and listening to favorite artists during car rides. The track represents the two sides of Parker’s relationship with his dad. One side of the song is drenched in remorse and the other settled, resolved.