Concert Review: Temples’ Combine Classic Rock With “Stranger Things” At Bowery Ballroom
Temples eerily played Bowery Ballroom last night. Okay, I know you noticed my usage of “eerily”. That is because Temples has a certain spook to their rock. Though the 70’s classic rock comparisons are easy to make, this band’s darkened guitar riffs and drumming make them feel like a musical episode of “Stranger Things”.
As colorful strobes lit over them like they were coming from alien ships and each band member stood forward before the audience, their music carried a supernatural element. Audiences head-bobbed to their sounds like they were listening to Led Zeppelin’s younger, brotherly incarnation, which is understandable. Funky hair-dos, t-shirts and leather jackets, and sick compositions writhed from the stage to give viewers a classic rock ambiance.Yet, again, it was the darkness of their rhythms that fascinated me, especially since this is Halloween week. As they rocked on stage, I could not help but feel like their music was a wormhole into the “Upside Down”, where mystical creatures and new definitions of the the “known” await.
Classic rock + moody synth-pop = indie rock. Temples IS indie rock, and they provide the sort of sullen vibes that makes this genre thrive, and mentally redefine how people see the “known”. Their songs are composed to be like a colorful look into a kaleidoscope: where the shapes and colors you know combine to reinvent and reintroduce themselves to your vision. Such a capacity, like “Stranger Things”, sparks in audiences the youthful curiosity and fun that makes them look into things like kaleidoscopes. Temple’s music, for however melancholic in sound, has a spirit of liveliness to combat it. Lead Singer James Bagshaw helps keep that young ease/ vivaciousness throughout their music by having a meditative voice.
Bagshaw has a rather straight-toned, lulling voice that guides audiences through the abstract riffs of Temples’ music. Thus, his voice has a very clearing effect that makes sure that the music never loses its colorful, kaleidoscopic effect, but also feels approachable in its vastness. Thus, I loved the Temples’ performance. They have the bigness of “rocknroll” with its larger than life music arrangements, but they have the wonder and intrigue of “Stranger Things”. Such wonder for abstraction is what leads you to bravely approach the whimsical unknowns of life and make them known to you. For More Information On Temples Click Here.
