Tame Impala – Cargo, London 17/08/2010

The latest quality product from down under arrives here, as most Australian bands tend to do, fully formed and consummately professional.

It’s surprising then that despite a history that stretches back into the the first half of the last decade, Tame Impala have only just got round to releasing their debut album Innerspeaker – and to almost universal acclaim. It’s a capacity crowd that greets them at London’s Cargo tonight; an audience made up of a number of their fellow countrymen and women (and, I later learn, the actor Jason Schwartzman).

With the signs of jet-lag creeping through, the quintet take to the stage barefooted and styling an image that straddles the place where slacker meets paisley. Utilising a seemingly infinite array of guitar pedals, they reel off a set that picks up the highlights from Innerspeaker, modelling their live sound with the energy, quality and accessibility that makes the record such a vital listen.

‘Meant to Be’ and ‘Make Up Your Mind’ get an extended jam section which touches on the more proggy aspects of their sound but ‘Desire Be/Desire Go’, the album’s lead track, is the predictable highlight for most; an ear-hugging pop gem that melds a quintessential sixties beat and reverbal vocal to a contemporary sound. Despite Frontman Kevin Paker looking like he’s in another time zone, there’s not a note out of sequence nor a missed line.

Before they close, there’s time for a truly novel and mindblowing take on Blue Boy’s ‘Remember Me’ and a nod to The Horrors, who have been manning the DJ booth between bands with a fine selection of garage, psych and freakbeat. And then it’s all over as they close with a phenomenally drawn out version of ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’. It’s tight, neat and effortless.