News Temple Songs: ‘Getting Signed, It’s Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be’

are a band on the verge of a massive breakthrough, and it’s no secret as to why. Like the melodic equal of nicotine, latest single ‘Passed Caring’ is one of those painfully addictive tracks that grows on you with every play, its looping three-note guitar riff embedding itself so deep in your brain that the only remedy is repeated, frequent listens. Their sound possesses a delightfully distorted warmth. In an age dominated by all things digital, this is quite the achievement. But what’s perhaps all the more remarkable is that such a breakthrough has come nearly three years into Temple Songs’ career.

“If we’d gotten signed within three months of starting, we’d have been finished within another three,” says Temple Songs’ brains and lead-singer Jolan Lewis. “So I’m glad it’s taken up to this point to get any kind of notice, because hopefully that’s gonna translate into some kind of longevity. We spent a lot of those first months just thinking ‘Ah, we should get signed soon,’ but I’m glad that we didn’t.”



The band now find themselves much better placed to translate this sudden attention into a fruitful, long-lasting success. And the oh-so-organic method that the group so ruefully stick to is, according to the band, largely down to the patience and caring nature of a city that doesn’t like to rush its home-grown talents – Manchester.

“[Manchester is] completely different from any other scenes we’ve encountered,” continues Jolan. “It’s got a completely different way of doing things. There’s no pretence about it, no one looks like they’re in a band, no one’s bothered about appearances. There’s no rivalry whatsoever, everyone likes each other’s bands. Maybe it’s a little bit insular, maybe it’s a little bit incestuous…but it’s nice.”

“They all work in the same places as well,” adds drummer Andrew Richardson. “The places we hang out, all the other bands work there. And then when we go to play a show, they’ll all be on the bill as well.”

It’s inevitable that Manchester bands will bump into one another every now and then in such a tight-knit city. But it’s the genuine camaraderie and unabashed inter-band musician swapping that shows just how wonderfully linked the scene here is.

“The other week we had a gig where the bill was Pink Teens (singer Jolan’s side project), The Bell Peppers (drummer Andrew also plays for them), Aldous RH (Egyptian Hip Hop lead singer Alexander Hewett’s side project, whom Jolan lends his guitar skills to) and Temple Songs,” explains Andrew. “So there was literally one of us in every band that played. We all ended up getting on stage and just having a massive jam at the end.”

This willingness to share musical ideas and collaborate with one another is something that’s played a huge role in the band figuring out their own sound. It’s provided them with an opportunity to use other acts as individual creative outlets, but also pinpoint exactly what they want to do with Temple Songs. “Although I want Temple Songs to evolve into different genres, playing in other bands helps you to focus and hone in a little bit on what you want to do with each band,” continues Jolan. “Otherwise it’s gonna be a mess. So with Temple Songs, even though I’m still writing all the songs, it’s very much a collaborative thing, whereas Pink Teens is just for me. So I don’t get to be too much of a dictator with this band.”

Despite their desire to eventually experiment with any genre they fancy, this collaborative nature is key to forming Temple Songs cohesive sound, coupling an overriding lo-fi aesthetic with pop undertones to glorious effect. And thankfully, that joyous balance is something that’s so deeply ingrained in their musical DNA that it won’t be disappearing anytime soon.

“As much as we love The Beatles and The Beach Boys and all those classic pop bands, we also love and grew up on bands like Captain Beefheart, The Red Crayola and The Gods, so we never feel completely comfortable just being a pop band. We’ve got this compulsive urge to completely ruin it as well.”

It’s a no-nonsense Manchester edginess that manifests itself in the group’s messy, mistake-riddled production style. And it seems the city is fast becoming renowned for possessing these ‘genuine’ qualities, not only in its music, but in the attitude of its artists as well (MONEY being at the forefront of all-out-candidness). For a band at home with such honest and open surroundings, the ever increasing visits to London that go hand in hand with Temple Songs’ recent rise to prominence have also required a slightly more guarded approach, as well as the addition of a foolproof system for bullshit-detecting.

“Everyone in Manchester, us included, is so skeptical of bullshit, which is so pervasive in – I’m not saying everywhere else – but in various other pockets of the country, and I think we all just want to stay out of that,’ says Jolan. ‘But recently, those things that we’ve been taught to be skeptical about have started becoming more commonplace. So maybe we’re just a bit more apprehensive about everything because of that.”

Luckily for them, they didn’t give in to that world of premature interest and undoubted bullshit just three months into their career, which almost definitely would have seen them crash and burn before they were ready. It certainly seems to be paying dividends now, having been allowed the time to grow and develop at their own pace by their beloved city. And after touring with and supporting several other acts that have suffered the very fate Temple Songs avoided, they’re entirely grateful of the position they now find themselves in.

“Getting signed, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” says Andrew. “We’ve supported bands who, a week or two later, are on front pages with the headline ‘Best New Band In Britain’ or whatever. But that’s the kiss of death.”

Temple Songs play London’s Madame Jojos, 30th July. Their ‘Passed Caring’ single is out now.