According to the 'My Year in Music' function on Spotify, not only were Temples my top artist of 2014 but their debut album Sun Structures was my most listened to album (on Spotify) of the past 12 months. This is not the only HIGHLY PRESTIGIOUS list Sun Structures has topped: it was crowned Rough Trade's Album of the Year, as well as appearing on the definitive top album lists of NME and XFM. It is an album truly celebrated throughout the year, especially by their champions from little-known bands such as The Smiths and Oasis. So underground, right? Both Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher have saluted their unexampled talent and labelled them as "Britain's best new band". Alright, innit?
I had liked Temples' music for a long time but I properly tripped into the realm of true love once seeing their set in the BBC Radio 6 Music Tent at this year's Latitude Festival. It wasn't long before the album became all I listened to; becoming borderline obsessive. With support from the funky-fresh sounds of Superfood (though it was an unorthodox to see them play to such a pastoral crowd instead of in a pit of sweaty carnage) (read my review of their NME New Breed show here), Temples at The Forum was a show that I couldn't afford to miss (well my pocket could really have afforded to skipped it, but my appetite surely couldn't).
Front man James Bagshaw (and star of my favourite YSL campaign of all time, alongside top babes Jack Kilmer and Dylan Brosnan) proved truly in control of his project. After writing and solely producing Sun Structures, their just-stepped-out-of-the-sixties sound orbits almost entirely around his foxy magenta glittering 12-string and delicate vocals. Slightly simmering under the surface, his showmanship is brought to resplendence by the delight of the equally camp other three members of Temples (Adam Smith, Sam Toms, and album co-writer Thomas Walmsley). Cheekily, in a sparkly blazer, he teased the crowd about their lack of lustre, yet this only lead to the most forced mosh pit I'd ever been a part of.
Unsurprisingly, the Temples tour was a really unique occasion. Not only were some tracks accompanied by an orchestral ensemble, but a trippy live liquid light show contributed to an already kaleidoscopic atmosphere. Their show channelled all mediums: classical influences, nomadic art, and transcendent music. Temples aren't inspired by 60s psychedelia: they are the embodiment of the era in the 21st century. Instant classics such as Shelter Song mesmerised (wheyyyyy!!!) the crowd, whilst they fed off the quirky zest of The Guesser.
Though Sun Structures is a masterpiece of intricate layers and their performance teetered on hypnotic levels, the feeling and heart of the record failed to be transported on stage. Three 3 minute+ instrumental solos just don't work in a live show predominately attended by teenagers and young adults. With such an entangled and ambitious two years of performing, it will be interesting to map the Kettering four piece's progress to LP2.
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