Rock Music News: Temples @ Fairmount Theatre (2024)

For a band I had always considered to be primarily rock-psychedelia, it’s kind of curious that when Temples arrive on the stage at Fairmount Theatre, the setup looks more “Between Two Ferns” than Woodstock. Plastic plants adorn the stage, and the rest of the setup looks fairly minimal; before a note is even played, my preconceived notions of what a Temples show might be like are entirely obliterated! The deep, moody rumbling of “Liquid Air” could almost be Black Rebel Motorcycle Club if not for the salmon-coloured suit of frontman James Bagshaw. With his curly bouffant and thin frame, he bears more than a passing resemblance to The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard, but his incredible guitar work sets him far above his contemporary in that respect. After moving to the front of the stage, the solo on “Certainty” rips into the faces of the front row, blowing away any cobwebs on this Monday night, as do the filthy Hendrix riffs on “Holy Horses” shortly thereafter. The intricate fingerpicking that accompanies every word on the chorus of “Cicada” is hypnotic and reminds you of the Middle Eastern vibes of Sanskrit-singing 90s hippies, Kula Shaker; a similar thing happens on “Exotico,” actually.