Temples – In danger of becoming overlooked and underrated. But . . .
Temples for Tuesday night – recorded live at Ground Control, Paris – April25, 2023 by Radio France FIP.
Having been a fan and active supporter of this band since their debut in 2012, it strikes me as strange that they are in danger of being overlooked for some of the lesser-qualified bands currently on the scene.
I’m at a loss to figure out why. Their latest album, Bliss, is slated to come out on June 26 and it’s already getting positive word of mouth by way of the teaser single “Jet Stream Heart”, currently making the rounds. Their previous album, Exotico was produced by none other than Sean Ono Lennon. They have all the earmarks of being huge – fingers crossed this new endeavor hits all the right nerves.
Temples was initially formed as a home studio project in mid 2012. Founders bass player Tom Walmsley and singer-guitarist James Bagshaw had known each other for years before these projects. It was at this point that Bagshaw and Walmsley were in rival bands based in their hometown of Kettering. The duo had later worked together in The Moons, with Bagshaw also having sessioned with the Lightning Seeds and co-fronted another earlier Kettering band Sukie who formed in 2006 and charted at No 1 in the UK Indie Chart with their debut single “Pink-A-Pade”. Sukie were featured in the fanzine “Siren”, edited and created by Walmsley to document Kettering’s music scene.
The duo uploaded four self-produced tracks to YouTube which caught the attention of Heavenly Recordings founder Jeff Barrett who agreed to release the band’s debut single in the form of “Shelter Song” in November 2012. They then enlisted fellow Kettering resident drummer, Samuel Lloyd Toms (Secret Fix, ex-Koolaid Electric Company) and keyboard player Adam Smith and started rehearsing as a band, so they could play their songs live, having never played live as a band before. The band released their second single “Colours To Life” in June 2013.
The current lineup of Temples consists of four members who have been instrumental in shaping the band’s psychedelic rock sound since their formation in 2012. James Bagshaw serves as the lead vocalist and guitarist, having co-founded the band with Tom Walmsley in Kettering, England, and remaining its primary songwriter and producer across all releases. Tom Walmsley plays bass, providing the rhythmic foundation that underpins the band’s groovy, retro-inspired tracks since the group’s inception. Adam Smith joined on keyboards and guitar in 2012, adding textural layers and rhythmic support to the ensemble as part of the original lineup. Rens Ottink joined as drummer in 2018, bringing a renewed energy to the band’s live performances and completing the current quartet.
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