British neo-psychedelic band Temples combine the trippily experimental sound of groups like Tomorrow and the Move with the classic song craftsmanship of the Beatles. The chiming guitars, tight harmonies, and easygoing T.Rex boogie of their debut album, Sun Structures, gained the band a following that expanded beyond neo-psych circles. Thanks to the record's impact, Temples found themselves at the forefront of a miniature psychedelic revival, along with fellow travelers King Gizzard and Tame Impala. The band put their fans to the test with the synth-heavy follow-up Volcano, but returned to more familiar territory on 2019's Hot Motion.

Formed in Kettering, a medium-sized city outside of London, Temples initially centered around the talents of songwriting duo vocalist/guitarist James Bagshaw and vocalist/bassist Thomas Warmsley. After adding drummer Sam Toms and guitarist/keyboard player Adam Smith to the group, they released their debut single, "Shelter Song," on Heavenly in 2012. Following a busy 2013 spent playing shows, recording an album, and releasing two singles ("Colours to Life" in June, "Keep in the Dark" in October), the band's first long-player, the Bagshaw-produced Sun Structures, was released in early 2014. A steady stream of tour dates around the world, and an unlikely appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, kept Temples busy the rest of the year. Near the year's end, Heavenly released Sun Restructured, a super-trippy reimagining of the Sun Structures album done by the remix team of Richard Norris and Erol Alkan, aka Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve.

Temples spent the next two years writing songs and recording them in Bagshaw's living room while also keeping up a steady slate of concert appearances. "Certainty," the first song from their second album, was debuted in late 2015 and featured the addition of synthesizers to their retro-psych sound. Produced by Bagshaw, with Smith contributing to the songwriting, the slightly more forward-sounding Volcano was issued by Fat Possum in March 2017. Temples hit the road to play a full slate of dates, then in early 2018 found themselves looking for a drummer when Toms left the group. They added PAUW's Rens Ottink to the live band for late-2018 shows. Along the way, the group also left Heavenly Records to sign with ATO Records. Their first record for the label, 2019's Hot Motion, was recorded in an outbuilding near Bagshaw's country home and had a synthesizer-free, guitar-heavy sound that was more in line with their debut. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi