SHOW PREVIEW: TEMPLES AT HAWTHORNE THEATRE 9/21/2014

Kettering, England’s Temples have had a whirlwind existence thus far in their barely two years as a band, having already toured the world and played several massive festivals by this summer’s end. Formed from the ashes of Singer/bassist Thomas Warmsley and guitarist/vocalist James Bagshaw’s previous projects The Moons and Sukie, Temples began in earnest after the duo uploaded four demos to YouTube, which soon caught the eye of London-based Heavenly Records founder Jeff Barrett, who released the band’s lead single “Shelter Song” in 2012.

Soon Temples was spending the better part of 2013 touring with UK heavies such as Kasabian and Suede on the way to releasing its head-turning debut, Sun Structures, in February of this year. Sun Structures is a crisp blast of sixties era psychedelic rock that has garnered the Temples worldwide accolades, landed the band a slot at this year’s Coachella, as well as appearances on American late night shows like The Tonight Show and earned the admiration of folks like Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher back home.

Live, the “daytime acid trip” sounds of Sun Structures are a bit less polished and the arrangements get looser and grittier, with bassist Warmsley and drummer Samuel Lloyd Toms providing an enthralling backbeat for the retro-jangle of Bagshaw and Co.’s guitar attack.

Sunday night at the Hawthorne Theatre finds the band rolling into Portland in the midst of a massive North American headlining tour, with local favorites Wampire opening the show. The two bands make for quite the double bill, and it will be intriguing to see if Temples’ live show lives up to the band’s already considerable hype. Check back with Eleven PDX next week for our review. »

– Donovan Farley

Temples, Wampire, Coma Serfs