Ahead of their new album Hot Motion, out Sept. 27 on ATO Records, U.K. psych-rock trio Temples have shared another new single, the spirited, yet contemplative “Context.”
Frontman James Bagshaw frames the song as an interaction between language and instrumentation, evoking the elasticity of the former by manipulating the latter:
“‘Context’ was originally written as an observation of words being taken out of context, and how that changes the sentiment and meaning of words. This thought process crossed over into the musicality of the song. I wanted to reinvigorate the idea of the guitar solo, and also re-contextualize influences from my favorite musical pioneers. There is a nod to Les Paul and Mary Ford, and the guitar solo pays homage to a recording technique made famous on the piano sound on “In My Life” by The Beatles! We recorded the guitar solo at half speed, and then sped it up afterwards!
Temples’ ATO debut, Hot Motion is the third album from the band, following 2014’s Sun Structures and 2017’s Volcano. Likewise, “Context” is the third single from the new LP after the June release of its title track and the August release of “You’re Either On Something.” A press release describes Hot Motion as “an album fizzing with ideas, bursting with kinetic energy and balancing an immediate impact with an enduring, timeless intensity,” as well as “an aural tapestry for dark days; an inviting and warm sanctuary away from the daily churn of information overload.”
Temples kick off a North American tour in October, starting at California’s Desert Daze Festival on Oct. 11, and criss-crossing the U.S. (and Canada) through a Nov. 10 show in Philadelphia. They then spend the rest of November and part of December on a headlining tour of their native U.K. and Europe, wrapping their run in London on Dec. 8.