Kettering-based four-piece Temples return with their fourth studio album, ‘Bliss’, scheduled for release on June 26 via V2 Records. This ten-track collection introduces an electronic direction for the group, reimagining their psych-rock foundations through the lens of late nineties and early 2000s European dance music. The band produced the record themselves, opting for a hands-on approach centered on improvisation and internal sampling. This self-produced method allows the quartet to manipulate their own performances into a collage-like sonic palette. It is the most adventurous recording in the band’s career.
The lead single, “Jet Stream Heart”, serves as a primary example of this stylistic evolution. The track mirrors the physical sensation of club speakers through hypnotic beats and home-made fuzz pedals. Vocalist James Bagshaw, bassist Thomas Walmsley, keyboardist Adam Smith, and drummer Rens Ottink focused on blurring the lines between synthesizers and traditional instrumentation. “The feeling of music in a club is visceral (almost like you’re directly wired into the song),” the band notes. The production on this track is bulging with the rhythmic pulse of the Ibiza scene.
The album explores themes of disconnection and surrender across its varied tracklist. While “Vendetta” marries scuzzy riffs with bubbling dance melodies, “Megalith” utilizes a crunching stomp to address internal frustration. Adam Smith describes “Megalith” as a reflection on feeling like a standing stone while the world moves around you. These tracks highlight a move toward simple structures that generate complex emotional responses. The influence of artists like Portishead and Massive Attack is evident in the record’s melancholic euphoria. Every note serves the band’s liberated creative intent.
‘Bliss’ follows the success of 2023’s ‘Exotico’ and represents a shift toward total creative autonomy. By stepping away from outside producers, the band leaned into their collective chemistry to create a shared sonic language. The result is a record that flows between motifs and textures with instinctive movement. This summer release marks a definitive new chapter for the group as they embrace an unexpected electronic identity. It is a bold statement from a band refusing to remain static.
‘Bliss’ Tracklisting:
- Jet Stream Heart
- Revelations
- Megalith
- Glimmer
- Blue Flame
- Vendetta
- Jaguar
- Horizon
- Waiting On The Echoes
- Fantasy Realm