Avid psych heads have been long awaiting English jangle-pop group Temples’ return to the fray. I am among them and the news that their new LP Hot Motion came out friday is heartily welcomed. ‘You’re Either On Something’ is a fine lead single, awash with fuzzy guitars and shimmering synth arps. Nobody sings like James Bagshaw.
With their third brilliantly crafted and ingeniously intricate album, “Hot Motion”, British band Temples has found new ground and a deeper, darker creative well. A glorious technicolor infuses much of the record but there is a David Lynch-ian undertone that adds a gravity to Hot Motion’s soaring moments. “It felt like there was a darker edge to what we were coming up with and we wanted to make sure that carried through the whole record,” said bassist Thomas Walmsley. “It’s not a ten track, relentless rock record from start to finish, it’s got a lot of light and shade and more tender moments, but that heavier, darker sound is something we wanted to explore further.
As the follow-up to 2017’s rhapsodic Volcano, Hot Motion finds Temples on new ground, and wading into darker, deeper territory in terms of both songwriting and instrumentation. The album’s first single is a bright, brassy return to the band’s distinct psychedelic pomp, but built on a sturdier, stadium-rock backbone. The accompanying video drowns the band in warm hues of orange, red and yellow as they perform the track in a hazy funk.
The Fat Angel Sings 