Temples

British neo-psychedelic outfit Temples merges a hallucinatory vintage sensibility with time-honored pop songwriting skill, yet remains willing to test the hazy edges of that aesthetic. Their opening statement arrived via the ringing guitars, interlocking vocals, and laid-back T. Rex-flavored boogie of 2014’s Sun Structures, a release that drew listeners well outside typical neo-psych audiences. At the same time the quartet stood among the leaders of a short-lived psychedelic resurgence alongside King Gizzard and Tame Impala. Core tenets held steady when the band ventured into synthesizer-dominated terrain on 2017’s Volcano and later enlisted Dave Fridmann to give 2023’s Exotico its polished sheen.

Assembled in Kettering, a modest city beyond London, Temples first revolved around the songwriting partnership of vocalist-guitarist James Bagshaw and vocalist-bassist Thomas Warmsley. Once drummer Sam Toms and guitarist-keyboardist Adam Smith joined, the group issued its debut single, “Shelter Song,” through Heavenly in 2012. A crowded 2013 followed, filled with live dates, album sessions, and two further singles—“Colours to Life” and “Keep in the Dark”—before the Bagshaw-produced Sun Structures appeared in early 2014. Worldwide touring and an unexpected spot on The Ellen DeGeneres Show occupied the remainder of the year. Late in 2014 Heavenly put out Sun Restructured, a heavily altered reinterpretation of the debut album crafted by remix duo Richard Norris and Erol Alkan, known collectively as Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve.

Over the subsequent two years the musicians composed and tracked material in Bagshaw’s living room while maintaining a full concert schedule. Late 2015 brought “Certainty,” the first preview of their second album and the initial showcase for synthesizers within their retro-psych framework. Bagshaw produced the sessions, with Smith aiding the writing; the resulting, somewhat brighter Volcano surfaced on Fat Possum in March 2017. After an extensive touring cycle, Toms departed in early 2018, prompting the addition of PAUW’s Rens Ottink to the live lineup for late-year shows. Around the same period Temples exited Heavenly and aligned with ATO. Their first project for the new label, 2019’s Hot Motion, was captured in an outbuilding beside Bagshaw’s rural residence and emphasized guitars over keyboards, echoing the texture of the debut. The accompanying tour halted abruptly in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting the band’s focus to new songwriting. At their label’s request they retrieved a discarded Hot Motion candidate titled “Paraphernalia,” recorded it at home with remote input from admirer Sean Ono Lennon, and handed the disco-tinged track to Dave Fridmann for mixing; it emerged as a stand-alone single near the end of 2020. Once restrictions eased, and with Ottink now a full member, the group traveled to upstate New York to work directly with Lennon. The outcome, April 2023’s Exotico, stands as their most understatedly experimental work, layering classic psychedelic elements with dense guitar arrangements, airy keyboards, soft melodies, synthesized bass, occasional soft-rock detours, and Fridmann’s intricate production. Immediately after release the band launched a North American tour.