British indie rock/psychedelic/neo-70s prog rock band Temples is back with their third studio album, “Hot Motion”. Usually when it comes to Temples, if their music doesn’t sound like I’m face down in a puddle of mud tripping on LSD in Woodstock, I don’t want it.
That was the case for their last album, “Volcano”, which immensely rubbed me the wrong way. There was a severe lacking of psychedelia, as if Temples had dropped their 70s persona for too long and reserved the 2017 album exclusively for new wave indie vibes.
So I was fairly thrilled when “Hot Motion” came about and brought back those familiar acid-soaked vibes I fell in love with. With tracks like “You’re Either On Something” and “Hot Motion” deploying their signature bass lines, I’m in love all over again.
Even the songs that weren’t laced with LSD were still enjoyable in an “intro to a teen romcom” kind of way. “The Beam” more than any other song felt less psychedelic, more happily walking to class on a bright sunny day. And I loved it.
Even if the album wasn’t 100% what I was hoping for, I’m perfectly content with the happiness of “The Beam” or the 80s synth melodies in “It’s All Coming Out”, and the melancholy of “Not Quite the Same.”
Each song puts out a completely different feeling than the one before. Where “Howl” sounds like Alice in Wonderland meets a military parade, “Holy Horses” is that of a euphoric downward spiral. And yet the album somehow maintains the same atmosphere across tracks.
My only issue with the album lies with the fact that some of the songs were wholly forgettable. Honestly, I don’t really recall anything special or anything worth remembering coming out of the other half of the album. The latter tracks were mostly meh.
On the whole, I’m psyched that Temples has brought me a new wave of psychedelia to vibe with because I’ve been missing them deeply. Even if the album didn’t fully live up to my expectations, it’s still given me something new to listen to.
