Tame Impala have begun hinting at something for September with the release of a cryptic teaser video advertising a fake drug called “Rushium.” You can check the footage out below.
Released today, the minute-long clip is stacked with trippy and abstract imagery: sprawling sand dunes, metallic liquid flowing and contorting, and a kaleidoscopic mashup of a brain and electrical cords.
Among it all, we see snippets of Kevin Parker working in a laboratory and looking ominously at a vial of his medical concoction, holding it close to the camera to reveal its label reading “Tame Impala / 2021 V.1 Clinical Trial / S.R. Tour”. A closing title card reads “Phase 1 Clinical Trials Begin 09/2021”.
Per a website set up to promote AionWell, the (fake) brand behind the drug, Rushium offers users “a new lease on life and a refreshed internal clock”. Though the site doesn’t give away what Tame Impala have in-store come September, the inclusion of “S.R. Tour” on the Rushium label implies it has something to do with the ongoing touring cycle for Tame Impala’s widely-acclaimed fourth album, The Slow Rush.
Tame Impala have already announced a slate of touring plans for the album, however, with a North American tour set to keep them busy from July through October, and an Australian run locked in for December. They also have a full slate of festival appearances lined up, including stops at Outside Lands, Bonnaroo, Life Is Beautiful and Firefly throughout the remainder of 2021, and Primavera Sound next year.
Earlier this month, Kevin Parker teased that a track he and Mark Ronson worked on with SZA could be released in the near future. Parker and Ronson debuted the untitled track during a DJ battle at New York’s Governors Ball festival back in 2017, but it’s yet to be released in full.
The psych-rock luminary has plenty of other unreleased collaborations in his pocket, too, including tracks with Internet Money and Gorillaz.
