| "Lost in Yesterday" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byTame Impala | ||||
| from the albumThe Slow Rush | ||||
| Released | 8 January 2020 | |||
| Length | 4:09 | |||
| Label | Modular | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kevin Parker | |||
| Producer(s) | Kevin Parker | |||
| Tame Impala singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Lost in Yesterday" onYouTube | ||||
"Lost in Yesterday" is a song byTame Impala, the musical project of the Australian multi-instrumentalistKevin Parker. It was released throughModular Recordings on 8 January 2020, as the fourth single from the project's fourth studio album,The Slow Rush (2020). Parker wrote and produced it, and also performed all the instruments and vocals. Withdisco,dub, andfunk elements, it predominantly contains agroovybassline. Lyrically, the song deals with nostalgia and the passage of time, centering on Parker's complicated relationship with these topics.
The duo Terri Timely, composed of Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey, directed the music video for "Lost in Yesterday", which was released on 30 January 2020. It has asingle shot style and depicts Parker as a band's lead vocalist in a 1970sretro wedding. Tame Impala performed the song onJimmy Kimmel Live! and included it in the set list of the Slow Rush Tour between 2020 and 2021.
The song was ranked fifth on the AustralianTriple J Hottest 100 of 2020 poll, and was nominated for Song of the Year and Most Performed Alternate Work at theAPRA Music Awards of 2021. Commercially, "Lost in Yesterday" reached middle-low positions on the main national charts of Australia, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. It receivedcertifications in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Tame Impala,Kevin Parker's musical project, first teased a then-upcoming song in the first days of 2020.[1] "Lost in Yesterday" was released throughModular Recordings on 8 January 2020, as the fourth single from the project's fourth studio album,The Slow Rush (2020).[2][3] It served as a follow-up to the singles "Borderline", "It Might Be Time", and "Posthumous Forgiveness", all released in 2019.[1] On 2 March 2020, Tame Impala debuted "Lost In Yesterday" onJimmy Kimmel Live!, alongside a performance of other album track, "Breathe Deeper".[4][5] The track was added to the set list of the project's fourth concert tour, the Slow Rush Tour,[6] which was then delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and resumed in the following year.[7][8]
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Parker wrote, recorded, and producedThe Slow Rush, including "Lost in Yesterday".[9] Musically, it has elements ofdisco,[10]funk,[11] anddub effects.[12] The song contains a "groovy"bassline, compared byStereogum's Chris Deville to Tame Impala's 2015 single "The Less I Know the Better".[2]Pitchfork's Jill Mapes perceived similarities between the vocals of Parker andDaft Punk.[12]
The lyrical content of the song sees Parker reflecting on past memories and how they change with time: "Now even though that was a time I hated from day one / Eventually terrible memories turn into great ones".[10] It also deals with nostalgia and Parker's complicated relationship with it.[13] Parker recalls the days when he was making music with friends inPerth ("When we were living in squalor, wasn't it heaven? / Back when we used to get on it four out of seven").[14] On a press release, Tame Impala described the song as "an examination of time's distorting effect on memories".[15] The song shares its concept with several other tracks on the album, which Parker described as an "idea of time passing, of seeing your life flash before your eyes, being able to see clearly your life from this point onwards".[13]
Christopher Roberts ofUnder the Radar named "Lost in Yesterday" as one of the best songs of its release week,[15] and Deville opined that it is one of the bestThe Slow Rush singles.[2] Al Newstead of theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation said that it is "more accessible" than the project's previous singles and compared it to "Patience" (2019) andCurrents' "The Moment" (2015).[13] In a less positive review, Mapes believed that the song "tries to edge up an aggressively beachy vibe [...] and ends up feeling a little dated".[12] It was nominated for Song of the Year and Most Performed Alternate Work at theAPRA Music Awards of 2021.[16] The song was voted into fifth place on the AustralianTriple J Hottest 100 of 2020, which was broadcast on 23 January 2021.[17]
Commercially, "Lost in Yesterday" appeared on five main national charts. It peaked at number 65 in Australia,[18] 78 in Ireland,[19] 80 in Lithuania,[20] 89 in the United Kingdom,[21] and 129 in Portugal.[22] It additionally reached theCanada Rock chart at number 23, and theUltratip Bubbling Under charts in the Flanders and Wallonia regions of Belgium at number 4 and 22, respectively.[23][24] In the United States, the single reached number one onBillboard'sAdult Alternative Songs chart, becoming Tame Impala's first song to top an airplay chart in the United States.[25] It also reached number two onRock Airplay[26] and five on theHot Rock & Alternative Songs chart,[27] and the year-end rankings of both charts.[28][29] "Lost in Yesterday" received goldcertifications by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA),[30]Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[31] andRecorded Music NZ (RMNZ),[32] as well as a silver certification by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).[33]
The duo Terri Timely, composed of Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey, directed the four-minute music video for "Lost in Yesterday", which was released on 30 January 2020.[34][35][36][37] It stars Parker as the lead vocalist of a band in aretro wedding, singing along to the song, through various dimensions.[37][36] The video shows a scene representing the passage of time, following fashion trends.[37] With asingle shot and 1970s style,[38] the camera moves several times through the event's venue,[34] showing the guests becoming more positive as the video progresses.[36] It depicts the attendees dancing on the dance floor as well as the bride and groom cutting a cake, and her mother smoking a cigarette.[34] At the end of the video, the main characters from previous versions reappear to ruin the event.[34] Jordan Darville forThe Fader called the video "impressive" and "detailed".[36]NME's Charlotte Krol described it as a "nightmareGroundhog Day", which is mentioned in the song's lyrics ("You've been diggin' it up like Groundhog Day").[38]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[30] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[33] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[31] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||