By Joe Thompson
Temples debut record ‘Sun Structures’ was a solid effort that leaned heavily on the band’s predecessors and contemporaries in the psych-rock scene. It was an impressive showing from a band who had only been playing together as a full band for a year when the record hit the market, but they hadn’t really carved out their own sound. With high profile musicians such as Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr counted as fans of the Kettering based psych-rockers, the anticipation for the band’s sophomore effort ‘Volcano’ was high. In my opinion, they’ve smashed it out of the park.
Initially known as psych-rockers, this record sees Temples move towards a bit more of a psych-pop based sound. The addition of intricate, expertly layered synths to the returning fuzzy guitars and melodic rhythm section creates an audio canvas for lead singer and producer Bagshaw to paint upon with his simultaneously introspective and world-describing lyrics. This combination helps transport the listener to an oasis of psychedelic bliss. A particular moment of stereophonic transcendence is the closing moments of the superb opening track and lead single ‘Certainty’ (one time track of the week here on Niche Vinyl) where the sound weaves in and out of your sub-conscious as it alternates between ears when listening with headphones and lulls you into a hypnotic trance. It’s everything you want in a good psychedelic record.
The band’s musical references are wide reaching and often times bizarre, but effective. The intro of ‘(I Want to Be Your) Mirror’ sounds like something legendary composer Ennio Morricone would have made, provided he was a regular acid dropper. Bagshaw has said that the chorus of aforementioned ‘Certainty’ is Disney inspired and in fairness it’s not a stretch to say I could see it being the soundtrack to the trippy sequence in Dumbo.
There is however still some of that tendency to mimic the luminaries of psychedelia. ‘All Join In’ sounds like a very pale imitation of a Blue Album-era Beatles deep cut whilst “How Would You Like to Go?’ sounds like a track Kevin Parker would have left on the cutting room floor when producing the debut Tame Impala record. But when you have tracks with killer riffs (‘Born Into The Sunset’), beautiful melodies (‘Strange Or Be Forgotten’), and wonderful harmonies (‘Roman God-Like Man), it is very easy to be swept up in the brilliance of ‘Volcano’. Bagshaw asks early on in the record “Are we having fun yet?”. Yes James, I am having so much fun.
