Seattle – Wednesday night at Seattle’s Neumos, the audience was treated to vibrant, energetic sounds of psychedelic pop rock and post-punk, thanks to Temples and Drowners. Coming from an afternoon of KEXP live studio sessions, the groups were warmed up and ready to take the stage with their too-cool-for-school attitude and infectious swagger.
As Temples went onstage, Neumos was, for a moment, transported back to the ‘60s with their aesthetics, complete with bell bottoms, shaggy hair, and medallions; bassist Thomas Warmsley could have been Ronnie Wood’s younger brother. The four-piece from Kettering, England, complemented their look with sounds that evoked various pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, most significantly The Byrds, as they played much of their debut album, Sun Structures.
Frontman James Bagshaw’s clear, resonant vocals opened “Colours to Life,” and stayed strong throughout the night. On “Prisms,” the B-side to their debut single “Shelter Song,” eerie chord progressions and discordant harmonies seemed to give the room a transcendent, ethereal vibe.
“Sun Structures” perfectly captured its own song title with bright, shiny guitar licks, sunny harmonies, and typical psychedelic lyrics such as “Take a path of you, inside the odyssey/ Ritualistic signs on the desert sea.”
Changing the vibe slightly, Temples then played “A Question Isn’t Answered,” giving a bluesier sound with syncopated drums and symphonic keys, finishing the song with great a cappella harmonies before going into the catchy, villainous guitar riff of “The Golden Throne.”
“This one’s called ‘Ankh,’ move your feet to this one,” Bagshaw told the crowd. However, due to some technical difficulties with the bass, Temples had to take a break while the production team fixed the problem. “Anyone know any jokes?” guitarist/keyboardist Adam Smith asked. About 10 minutes later, they were up and running again to major applause.
Rounding out the set with “Sand Dance,” Smith left the atmospheric piano looping as they went offstage, the sound hanging over the audience as they chanted “One more song! One more song!” and started a mosh pit.
Coming back out, Temples chose “Shelter Song” as their encore, a lovely end to the psychedelic musical trip we had taken with them throughout the night.
While they were musically competent and gave a solid live performance, I did wish there was a little more energy and charisma from the band to match that of their opener and of the crowd. Temples’ disposition was too-cool-for-school, but they filled Neumos with nostalgic echoes of a generation.
“Alrightalrightalright,” Drowners frontman Matthew Hitt opened with his best Matthew McConaughey impression, which he loved repeating in between songs. The Brooklyn-based band launched into the first three songs off their eponymous debut album with such high intensity that guitarist Jack Ridley started to shower the audience with spit and sweat not even five minutes in (to the slight displeasure of the front row – but hey, it’s rock-and-roll, man).
On “Ways to Phrase a Rejection,” Hitt’s vocals were extremely reminiscent of The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, but his Welsh tinge added even more to the bad boy swagger Drowners were trying to present.
Before transitioning into “Pure Pleasure,” Hitt asked the production team, “Does this disco ball work? We really want to set the mood.”
A pink-hued spotlight hit the glittering sphere, and the crowd started whooping as Ridley opened with a bright riff and Lakis Paylou banged the drums with punk ferocity. “I could love you in secret/ but no one can know,” Hitt yearned through distorted guitar.
Ending the set with a gritty, fuzzy “Bar Chat,” Drowners jumped around onstage and played off each other well, and had a charming ease with the audience that kept us entertained.
Temples continues their US tour with Drowners through May, and their UK tour starting May 13th. For more information on dates, visit here.
Caitlin Peterkin
With degrees in journalism and music, Caitlin’s written for Paste Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and MajoringinMusic.com. She loves cheese, laughing at GIFs of corgis, road trip sing-alongs, and connecting with people over good beer and good music.
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