Tame Impala has unveiled its fifth studio album, Deadbeat. The follow-up to 2020’s The Slow Rush is officially set for release on Friday, October 17th via Columbia, and will include the previously-released single ‘End Of Summer’ from last month. To coincide with the album’s announcement, its second single ‘Loser’ has been lifted from it; that, as well as pre-save info, can be found below.
‘Loser’ arrived on Wednesday (September 3rd), following a cryptic teaser in the weeks prior; on all streaming services, the credits on ‘End Of Summer’ were changed from Kevin Parker to “Loser”. The song has also been given an accompanying music video, directed by New Zealand-born and Los Angeles-based director Sam Kristofski. The clip stars Joe Keery, the American actor and musician who performs under the moniker of Djo, and also features a cameo from Beck – the original ‘Loser’.
Tame Impala – ‘Loser’
Little has been revealed about Deadbeat ahead of its release. What is known thus far, however, is that the album will include 12 tracks and was – as with all Tame Impala releases – written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered entirely by Parker at his studio in Injidup, Western Australia. Parker, too, has revealed that the sound of Deadbeat was “deeply inspired by bush doof culture and the Western Australia rave scene”. In a new interview with GQ, Parker revealed the inspiration for the album’s title – wearing the term, with universally negative connotations, as a term of endearment.
“Deadbeat is a feeling of being behind the eight ball in life and in the world, of not being able to get your shit together, of being an inferior human,” he said. “And that’s depressing until I wear it as a badge, and then I feel good about it, stronger. If I can walk into a room of people and they know that I’m a deadbeat, that I’m a fucking piece of shit, then I’m going to have a better time. The expectation for me to be the guy with his shit together is gone.”
Since the release of The Slow Rush, Parker’s focus has largely been on collaborating with other artists. The 2020s has seen him release collaborative singles with acts such as The Streets (‘Call My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better’), Diana Ross (‘Turn Up The Sunshine’, for the Minions: The Rise Of Gru soundtrack), Gorillaz (‘New Gold’, alongside Bootie Brown), Thundercat (‘No More Lies’) and Justice (‘One Night/All Night’ and ‘Neverender’). In 2024, Parker served as a producer and songwriter on Dua Lipa‘s third studio album, Radical Optimism, alongside Danny L. Harle. Parker will be DJing on Justice’s tour of Australia in December 2025.
Deadbeat can be pre-ordered physically and pre-saved digitally by clicking here.
Further Reading
triple j’s Hottest 100 Of Australian Songs: The Complete List
Dua Lipa’s 2025 Australian Tour Cover Songs: The Complete List
Dua Lipa on Kevin Parker “He’s Always Been on My Dream Board of People to Work With”
