Beck makes a cameo in visual for new track that alludes to 1994 slacker classic
Fresh off the “End of Summer,” Tame Impala is back with another single, enlisting actor Joe Keery for the new video “Loser.”
The Sam Kristofski-directed video follows the Stranger Things star and Djo singer in the moments after a breakup, tracking him as he walks over to a local bodega and then wallows for hours over his situation on the store’s curb. “I’m a tragedy / Trying to figure my whole life out,” Kevin Parker sings during Keery’s existential crisis.
In the visual’s closing seconds, the video jump-cuts and Keery transforms into Parker, who is now sitting alone outside the market at night.
“Loser” boasts the chorus “I’m a loser, babe,” alluding to Beck’s 1994 slacker classic with the same title; Beck, fittingly, has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in this video as a yellow-shirted passerby outside of the market, which Parker confirmed with a behind-the-scenes photo of the two singers that he posted on social media after the video arrived.
Despite two new singles, Tame Impala have not yet announced their much-anticipated follow-up to 2020’s The Slow Rush, which Parker previously described as “kind of a future primitive rave act”; while the seven-minute dance song “End of Summer” matched that description, “Loser” hues closer to Tame Impala’s Currents and The Slow Rush in terms of sound.
Until there’s a track list and release date, it’s still unclear whether either single will feature on the upcoming LP: Prior to The Slow Rush, Tame Impala released the single “Patience” to preview the album, but it was ultimately not included on that LP.
