Over the course of their first three albums,
Temples made a strong case that they could be considered the premier psychedelic band of their era. Marrying big, hooky songs with a bright and punchy sound that was both sufficiently spacey and insistent, they put all the pieces together in a way few others could manage. They were also a fairly self-contained unit, recording at home with the band's
James Bagshaw producing. That changed with 2023's
Exotico, which they recorded in upstate New York with producer
Sean Ono Lennon, whom they had worked with remotely on the 2021 neo-disco single "Paraphernalia." That track was mixed by
Dave Fridmann, whose CV includes a long list of satisfied clients ranging from
the Flaming Lips to
Tame Impala. The band brought him back for
Exotico, too. During the writing and rehearsing process, the group sought to bring all their various influences together and reformulate them in new ways. They turned to
Lennon for help in expanding into reconstructed sonic territory as well, and he gave the band full access to all the funky keys and sound-making devices he had in his studio, as well as jumping in to add the occasional musical assist. The result is a bright and shiny album that combines
Temples' psychedelic influences with electronics, while
Fridmann's opulently layered mix gives their retro sound a sleek, up-to-date face-lift. ~ Tim Sendra
