Sun Structures / Temples Debut Album Review

With glittery eye shadow and 70s glam-rock style James Bagshaw and his fellow Temples members have taken the music scene as their own and given us a fresh sound. Recently all the bands floating the the forefront of our attention have been the loosely phrased ‘guitar bands’, who whilst still being good and unique within their own genre, tend to still churn out the similar types of sounds, however Temples have inserted a shot of dreamy pscho-pop into the mixing pot. And whilst other famous psychedelic pop band Tame Impala have taken their inspiration from the sun drenched isles of Western Australia, Temples have managed to drain their inspiration from none other than the moderately less sun drenched Kettering, UK. 

Sun Structures is Temples debut album, which is long overdue after spending years touring and supporting, and growing a loyal fanbase with their smattering of online material, with famous supporters such as Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr hailing them as ones to watch. The album keeps to a very similar style throughout, with few versus and longer keyboard/synth instrumentals, highlighted by the echoey fingerpicking curtesy of Bagshaw’s famous 12 string guitar. The woozy sound has the opportunity to disconnect you from the drab train journey or walk home in which you are listening, and take you into another dimension where things don’t matter and the world is filled with swaying colour. James’ lyrics breath an airy and relaxing air, even when you can’t distinguish what he is saying, and the entire work as a unit has a charming appeal. 

Obviously no album is perfect, and my criticism relates back to my review of Temple’s gig in Leeds last year, where I pointed out how excited I was to hear Ankh on the album, considering it the best song on their set. However, Ankh failed to make the cut, a disappointment in that I feel it would have slot in nicely towards the end.

It is easy to want to constantly compare a new band to all the other new bands that being reviewed and written about, yet I can honestly say that despite having similarities with the aforementioned Tame Impala it is difficult to compare. Granted their have been woozy psychedelic pop in the past, and Temples have in no way created a never before heard sound, however they have brought this sound back into the charts, and with a debut album as successful as this one I believe they’ll be around for a while, and I’d love to tip them as the festival sound of 2014, as any of the top festivals would be stupid not to have them. 

7/10 
Highlights : Sun Structures, Colours to Life and Shelter Song. 
Release Date: 10th February