Tonight The Arches plays host to a band that only formed in 2012, yet already have a very solid base of fans and admirers, including Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher, who have both dubbed them “the best new band in Britain”.
The most apparent influence of Temples’ sound comes from the musical acid-adventurers of the 70’s and a perhaps obvious modern comparison that one could draw up is Tame Impala, similar vocals and extensive pedal boards with heavy emphasis on dreamy yet forceful melody; so on my arrival at the venue I’m excited to hear how they transfer the songs from their debut album, Sun Structures, into a live setting.
Leaving no one to wait, Temples only take about 15-minutes to ready their stage and a psychedelic back drop of a pulsing abstract painting manages to make this a weirdly mesmerising intermission.
They launch into ‘Sun Structures’, a song that more or less completely encapsulates their re-telling of psyche-rock music.
The rhythm section are tight and lay down a compelling foundation for the songs numerous hooks to dig into the ears of the audience.
It’s very hard to not be impressed by the power that they manage to effortlessly blast out and it covers all necessary frequencies, resulting in a monstrously huge sound that could fill the half-cylinder room twice over without sounding mushy in any way.
Synthesiser keyboard is used not sparingly, swirling and pulsing along with the backdrop that starts to resemble two nebulas dancing with one another and if I were to explore the depths of a coloured in universe then Temples would absolutely be on the soundtrack.
“Something smells fruity,” vocalist James Edward Bagshaw quips, summing up one section of a pretty diverse crowd and also showing how boundless his bands appeal is.
We’re treated to a quality B-side which could easily have been featured on the album, and though the overall sound of Temples is completely defined and doesn’t stray far from its original point, each song has something very individual about it, which keeps interest levels spiked.
‘The Golden Throne’ starts with a pleasant, but brief, twangy guitar phrase before sliding into a guitar melody that sounds almost medieval, part of their sound in a lot of their other tracks too, and ‘Move with the Seasons’ is equally loud but drawls along with a slower swagger.
Scatterings of feedback are present throughout the set but this only seems to make things sound more awesome and after they finish up with ‘Shelter Song,’ they lay down their guitars and let it ring out, while the crowd chants the obligatory “one more tune”.
Returning with a triumphant performance of ‘Mesmerise’, they cap an incredible performance with a crazy, whirling jam that exceeds the four-minute mark at least.
Words: Greg Murray
Photos: Thomas Ritchie
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