What became of Temples? the band who arrived a few years too soon
I’m going to whisper this in case I jinx it, but could rock bands finally be on the comeback? We’ve got the likes of The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, and Fontaines DC all riding high in the realms of indie popularity, yet there’s one missing from that crowd. Temples should be with them.
Some may feel bemused at the mention of that name, having been lost to the myriad of outfits that never truly broke out of their shell, while others will feel a pang of pain. Unlike many others in this category, Temples really could have been something, but instead, the whims of commercial popularity meant they fell flat on their faces.
Timing was partly the issue. As a psychedelic rock band, they could have possibly made a viable claim to a space in the mid to late 2000s rock canon, or indeed in the landscape that is shaping up to hit the zeitgeist now, but considering that they formed in 2012, it was largely a case of just not being able to accommodate their sound.
It was a moment in time where indie sleaze was giving its last gasp, while electronic and trash pop songs took hold with the tightest grip over the charts. This wasn’t to say that rock music didn’t have any kind of cultural handling at all, but it undeniably was far more muted than it had been in the years prior.
As such, when Temples came along with their home demo, garage band-esque dreamy sound, it wasn’t exactly lapped up as much as it should have been. Those in the know realised they were looking at something special – hence the band garnering tour slots alongside the likes of Kasabian and Suede – and collecting famous fans in the form of Noel Gallagher. It was just the masses that needed more convincing.
Even though the band’s debut album Sun Structures performed relatively well, peaking at number seven in the UK charts, ultimately, it was a far too volatile landscape for the band to continue gaining traction. They had strong singles on that record, including ‘Mesmerise’ and ‘Shelter Song’, but with British commercial radio refusing to bite, it proved that there was little place else for the band to grow into a bigger beast.
It might come as a surprise to those who were only briefly familiar with Temples, then, that they haven’t proved to be an outfit that died with their muted success. Following up Sun Structures in 2017 with Volcano, then Hot Motion in 2019 and Exotico two years ago, the band are still valiantly trying, even though the latter album failed to chart at all. The question is whether it’s possible for them to keep going, as many of the new kids on the block quickly overtake them.
To this end, the band have taken on numerous different routes in recent years aside from the studio. All of them are still pursuing music in one way or another, with bassist Tom Walmsley and keyboardist Adam Smith both releasing their own solo projects in 2023 and 2024, respectively. In a similar capacity, drummer Rens Ottink is busy with his own studio space, developing his own sound while also fine-tuning that of others wanting to rise the ranks of rock.
It’s frontman James Bagshaw who presents the most unexpected twist, though. Although still absolutely rooted in the music realm, he’s instead turned his head towards academia, having completed a PhD at the University of Hull and now working as a senior lecturer on the Music Production course at Leeds Arts University. You can find all the band members still proudly flying the Temples flag on social media, but it seems other outlets, from solo careers to academic teachings, have found their greater calling for the time being.
In many ways, Temples are a tragedy of the modern rock scene – a band that had the potential to go so far, but through an accident of timing more than anything else, failed to really make it off the starting block. Of course, no one can predict the future, and time will only tell if they can swing a current musical canon, which would theoretically be in their favour. But as things stand, Temples could be confined to a graveyard of rock wannabes who were so close, but still so far.
