Monday, August 18, 2014

A shameful display, sung in some impermanent place

Every few years a new band comes along that gets up my hopes that the next big thing may be in the works.   The last band to trip my trigger - Tame Impala from Perth Australia - produced a killer first LP.   All fuzzed out in modern day trance psych, I really though they were contenders.  But their second LP was a big letdown, full of retread ideas and a drop off in energy level.

Recently I latched on to Temples, a new UK band that formed in 2012.   Several listens to their first album Sun Structures has me convinced that they might be the one.   I am really trying hard not to go overboard just yet, but the musical evidence so far is mighty fine.   Their influences include early Pink Floyd and T-Rex, with Byrds and Beatles definitely in the mix.

Their late 2013 single Keep In the Dark is the subject of today's post.  It kicks off with a glam drum stomp, then builds until a sing along chorus is followed by a high voice and mellotron flute, taking the listener into Moody Blues territory.  Then at the 2:00 minute mark an unknown instrument (bass sax, fuzzed out bass?) takes the song to a whole new level of psychedelic fab-ness.

I just discovered that they will be in Seattle and Portland next month, so tickets must be purchased forthwith.

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