Does any song on Good Mood Fool sound unique? No. But likeable? Yes. Likeable in that all too familiar, “Where have I heard this before?”, “Play it again, Sam” kind of way. Likeable in a great way.
A world away from Temple's previous records, Good Mood Fool is a mixed bag in that’s revisionist in approach, but somehow topical. There’s much to recommend.
Temple is a perfectly capable soul singer with a penchant for luscious hooks, a musician who approaches his influences with an unbridled enthusiasm and almost entirely avoids the cheese and cliché found within them.
Sure, these glossy throwbacks to eighties synth-pop, soul and funk may not be as innovative as anything on Temple’s previous albums, but he does them incredibly well, and it'd be a fool who doesn't give them a go.
#22 | / | Under the Radar |