Temples announce new Sean Lennon-produced album ‘Exotico’
Temples have just released their brand new single, ‘Gamma Ray’. Sun-drenched and groove-laden, the new offering arrives alongside details of the band’s new Sean Lennon-produced album, Exotico, slated for release on Friday, April 14th.
Temples rose to prominence following the release of their 2014 debut, Sun Structures, which peaked at number seven on the UK album charts. Packed with psychedelic delights, the album helped rejuvenate interest in the west coast jangle-pop of the mid-60s, partly fueling a miniature psychedelic revival in Britain that included bands like Toy and Wytches.
If ‘Gamma Ray’ is anything to go on, these days, Temples are more interested in the Euro-electronica of the late ’70s and early ’80s than the twee pastoralism of The Byrds and their cardigan-wearing kin. Indeed, ‘Gamma Ray’ is infused with a distinctly modern paranoia.
Of the track, frontman James Bagshaw says: “In the verse lyrics, we’re talking about the grandness of nature, and then the chorus flips that on its head, it sounds like a rejoiceful summer tune about soaking up the rays, but the truth is that soaking up gamma rays will kill you. So it’s about that juxtaposition of beauty and danger that we often find in nature.”
The single arrives alongside a music video shot on-location in the Brit-swamped coastal resort of Benidorm. “Filming in Benidorm was inspiring. It’s a very surreal and futuristic space – like Margate meets Vegas meets the end of the world!” says director Molly Daniels. “I wanted a video that felt fast-paced and took you on a journey through some great locations.”
Temples and Sean Lennon first crossed paths during southern California’s Desert Daze festival in 2019. The subsequent album collaboration taught the band to “be less concerned about what genre something might sit in, or even stop worrying about genre altogether. The genre should always just be Temples,” Bagshaw recalled.
Exotico is available for pre-order via the band’s shop. Temples are also set to make their live return next month with a run of intimate shows in Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, London and Cardiff, so keep your eyes peeled. You can see the full tracklist for Exotica below.
‘Exotica’ full tracklist:
- ‘Liquid Air’
- ‘Gamma Rays’
- ‘Exotico’
- ‘Sultry Air’
- ‘Cicada’
- ‘Oval Stones’
- ‘Slow Days’
- ‘Crystal Hall’
- ‘Head In The Clouds’
- ‘Giallo’
- ‘Inner Space’
- ‘Meet You Maker’
- ‘Time Is A Light’
- ‘Fading Actor’
- ‘Afterlife’
- ‘Movements Of Time’
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