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4 – Mom Rubbin's AOTY: Temples – Sun Structures
Sun Structure is pretty sad to listen to. Not because it tries to, not because it is meant to, but because it always leaves you wanting to listen to all the things that obviously influenced it and did what it tries to do, but way better. This album flows like a nostalgia trip through the 60s and the 70s. It is a completely innoffensive listen that will certainly bring back some memories but these memories certainly do not serve it. When the colorful distorsions kick in, you start to wonder why you are not listening to Srg Pepper or Jefferson Airplane. When the vocal harmonies arrive, you start to wonder why you are not listening to the Beach boys instead. When the soft reverb drowns the vocals,you start to wonder why you are not litening to the cavernous reverb of the Druids instead… because all of these were dong the same thing. 50 years before.
The lack of innovation is not the only problem though. After all, revivalism can have some great results, but in this case, it is pretty clear which of the revival or the revivalist matters the most. Temples may be able to emulate the sounds of the past, but they cannot go furether. They capture the kitch, the form but cannot really grasp the substance and expend it, or actualize the aesthetic they are using.
So yes, this album certainly works as a nostalgia trip but really… Why go for this when you can really just go with the original?
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suCRgZ6Oa7s