Of all the colorful, acid-fueled psychedelic rock acts out there, there are few with such astute production that stand out from the competition. The foremost of these are Tame Impala, Animal Collective and the four fellas from Kettering, England known as Temples. With the release of their latest record “Volcano,” they have built on the success of their 2014 debut “Sun Structures.”
“Volcano” is a quality pop-influenced album in which one can get lost — a delicious blend of near-flawless production, satisfying melodies and curious little aural meanderings hidden within the tracks. “Certainty” starts the album off strong, featuring a seamless blend of saturation between a cosmic, beepy sounding melody over a harder garagey backbeat. The wistfulness in lead vocalist James Bagshaw’s verses and chorus lends itself to the thought of a journey not yet taken, with lines such as “We land upon the parallelogram / On the sand of another land.”
Such bombastic themes continue in “All Join In” — a spacey, uncertain cut sounding like it’s right out of a rock opera. “I Wanna Be Your Mirror” uses clean, broad synth sounds and impressively ties robotic flute noises to an ever-switching backbeat. It’s exciting, elegant and reaches a level of regality almost unheard-of in Temples’ brand of psych rock. The rolling flow of the album includes a nice contrast between the brooding, evil sounding “How Would You Like To Go?” and the clear, introspective “Open Air.”
Despite these high points, there were a few missteps. “Oh the Saviour” is excessively mundane, redeemed only by the epic falsetto at its bridge.
“Volcano” is undeniably enjoyable, but the obvious critique must be made — these guys sound a lot like the Beatles. The similarity is glaring on the more whimsical tracks. For example, in the song “In My Pocket,” Bagshaw is a sonic ringer for John Lennon as he repeats that he feels “cloudy and empty.”
That being said, this similarity doesn’t do a disservice to the Beatles by any means. Instead, it is more of a very well-done homage, complete with use of the zany, otherworldly sound bites Lennon probably would have eagerly snapped up. “Roman Godlike Man,” which has arguably the best guitar riffs on the album, shines and leads well into “Strange or Be Forgotten.” This track is truly the highlight of “Volcano” — its comforting jangle is beautiful and reminiscent of a clear, windy morning.
The album shows great ambition and is markedly more mystical than previous LP “Sun Structures.” However, it isn’t a lyrical masterpiece. The words sometimes are overtaken — figuratively and in terms of mixing — by the out-front instrumentals and synth arpeggios. However, its strong psychedelic production is some of the most intuitive the genre has seen in awhile.
“Volcano” was certainly no sophomore slump — in fact, it’s a work of art that’s going to be hard to top.
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