Temples - Exotico (2LP) - Pink Vinyl

Temples have always chased a very particular kind of shimmer, that sixties-tinted psych swirl that feels both familiar and a bit extraterrestrial. Exotico, released in April 2023 and produced with Sean Ono Lennon, leans into that shimmer with fresh colours. It is their most kaleidoscopic set yet, the sort of record that makes you check the sleeve twice to see who played what, then flip it back over and start again. You can hear the band trusting their instincts, and you can hear Lennon nudging the edges, coaxing extra sparkle out of the arrangements without smothering the songs.

The opener Gamma Rays sets the tone quickly. It rides a chiming guitar figure and a buoyant bassline that could keep a dancefloor moving in a dim Brunswick bar, all while James Bagshaw’s vocal threads through like a beam of sun under a closed curtain. Temples know their way around a hook, but the detail work is what gets you. There is Mellotron in the corners, a mist of tape echo on the snare, and a little rhythmic twitch that keeps it from sinking into retro cosplay. Temples have never sounded like a museum act. They are magpies with good taste.

Cicada is another bright spot, crisp and slightly eerie, built on a pulse that hints at the insect chorus in its title. The guitars glint like car windows on a hot day, keys bubble up in quick flashes, and the chorus opens like a window. Across the album, Bagshaw and bassist Thomas Walmsley keep that push and pull between dazzle and drive, with Adam Smith’s keys and Rens Ottink’s drumming filling the frame. The interplay is tight, yet the record still feels breezy, like it was tracked with the windows open. You can sense the connection back to their 2020 standalone single Paraphernalia, also produced with Lennon, which hinted at this more vivid, technicolour approach.

Lennon’s production presence is felt most in the space around the instruments. Nothing feels crammed. Even when the band pile on 12‑string jangle, synth flourishes and stacked vocals, there is air between the parts. That clarity lets their melodies linger. Choruses stick because everything around them is carefully placed. It is the difference between a busy collage and a well lit one. This pays off on the mid tempo tracks, where the band resist the urge to rush and instead let tone and texture do the lifting.

Temples arrived a decade ago with Sun Structures and a lot of hype, and while they have shifted and refined since then, Exotico feels like the moment where their craft caught up to their ambition. The songs invite repeat listens, not just for the choruses but for the little production choices that keep winking at you on the fourth or fifth spin. A phased guitar tail here, a ghostly harmony tucked low in the mix there. It makes sense on vinyl, where that depth really opens up. If you are crate digging for Temples vinyl, this is the one I would pull first, and if you are looking to buy Temples records online, Exotico on wax sits nicely beside Sun Structures for a neat before and after.

There is a travelogue quality to the album, and not just because of the title. Temples have said they were drawn to dreamlike, far off imagery, and you can hear that in the songwriting. It is not straight escapism, more like a sand‑dusted postcard from a place that only half exists. The band recorded with Lennon at his upstate New York setup, and there is a slightly different light to these songs compared with their earlier UK sessions, a crispness that suits their blend of vintage gear and modern studio curiosity.

Critical response landed well, with plenty of reviewers noting the vitality here compared with the more muted corners of Hot Motion. Fans have already latched onto Gamma Rays as a setlist staple, and for good reason, but the album works best as a front to back listen. The sequencing gives you a steady drift and then a gentle lift, the kind of flow that makes flipping Exotico vinyl at home feel like a small ritual. In a Melbourne record store you could drop the needle on either side and sell a copy within two minutes. It has that instant, colourful charm that psych pop fans love.

If you have been sitting on the fence with Temples, this is the entry point. It honours the sparkle that drew people in back in the Kettering days, then opens the windows wider. As Temples albums on vinyl go, Exotico feels like the band saying this is who we are now. For those of us in the habit of trawling for vinyl records Australia wide, it is an easy recommendation, a lush and replayable set that proves Temples still have new shades to show.