Volcano

It takes a few listens to appreciate everything that’s going on within the songs, which are more psychedelic than pop this time round, but it’s clear from the offset that the band have not only built on their debut, but expanded their sound hugely.

Every track on Volcano flows beautifully, almost overloaded with hooks and harmonies, and charged with rhythmic intent. But the soundscapes are infinitely brighter and weirder and more thrillingly modern.

It would have been really easy for Temples to pump out Sun Structures 2.0, but they took a chance, and the result is some really exciting rock'n'roll.

Where debut ‘Sun Structures’ painted the portrait of a band out of step with the modern world, crafting tracks in such obvious homage to their influences they could easily be lost relics from among them, ‘Volcano’ shows a group able to take these reference points and craft them in their own image.

Their latest, Volcano, practically sheds the skin of their earlier approach, with the band leaning on their melodic strengths to emerge with a largely new identity that also seems a surprisingly natural fit.

‘Volcano’ may rank as more of a technical progression than an artistic one, but it’s no less impressive for that.

There’s something refreshing about how wholeheartedly Temples embraces genres that feel so closely tied to decades past. Nothing about the group’s approach feels like a rehash, though, and Volcano is an even better show of originality and commitment to personal musical style than any previous release.

This record’s closest counterpart is last year’s Currents from Tame Impala. Temples can’t quite reach pop solidarity like those Aussies, but they come close enough.

The second full-length effort from Kettering quartet Temples is another solid effort, but as with 2014 debut Sun Structures, Volcano lacks the spark that should be propelling the band into precocious territory.

Listening to their subsequent release Volcano gives one the impression that they aim to progress away from that semi-plagiarisation label but still stick to their musical beliefs of sonic trickery, evolutional hallucinogenic mood and poetic creativity.

Fans of the first album may be disappointed by the changes, especially since the band takes most of the psych out of its pop. Those who stick around will find that Volcano is a pretty good modern pop record.