Elephant (Tame Impala song)


"Elephant" is a song by Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala. It was released as a single from their second album Lonerism on 26 July 2012.
The single features artwork from Australian artist Leif Podhajsky, who also created the artwork for Innerspeaker and the follow-up Lonerism.

Background

explains that: "Elephant" features a bluesier side of Tame Impala, heard more frequently on their EP, as the song was written around that stage. Because it was written around that time, "Elephant" is "an anomaly on Lonerism. There are no other songs that have that bluesy riffing".
Speaking about the track in a retrospective interview with Beats 1 in 2019, Parker spoke of his surprise at how successful the track became. "I always thought it was a bit shallow, a bit cringe. But now I appreciate Elephant, because the character I’m singing about, from the loners perspective... it’s how I always envisioned big, egotistical people who would march around. It’s kind of how a loner might see a jock - like an elephant."
In this same interview, Parker added that his favourite Lonerism lyric is from Elephant: "He pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac / ‘Cause he doesn’t like it looking like he looks back".

Critical reception

Alicia Dennis from Zimbio called "Elephant" "the best psych-rock song ever written about a pompous jerk", while Nick Patch of the Times Colonist described it as a "distortion-drenched garage-rocker". It is also viewed as a "glam-rock gem" by the webzine PlayGround. Joe Levy from Rolling Stone stated that the song was "Tame Impala's 2012 alt-rock hit", describing the guitar riff as "gong-banging glam". Ian Cohen of Pitchfork gave the song the "Best New Track" accolade, praising its production and stating that it "splits wide open during its midsection for an expansive and lyrical guitar jam that these guys are doing better than just about anyone else right now." Nathan Reese of Refinery29 described the song as the group's "meaner, more immediate take on its garage-psych sound". He also commented that the song "with dueling keyboard and guitar solos that arrive midway through" resembles Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam", "channeled through the Stooges". Most listeners have said that his voice "closely resembles John Lennon".

Awards

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications