Content Guide
BLISS Review: I’ll be honest, when Temples announced they were moving away from their signature neo-psychedelia sound, I raised an eyebrow. The Kettering lads built their whole reputation on dusty, reverb-drenched guitar work and sprawling synth arrangements. But their fifth album BLISS, out June 26th via V2 Records, isn’t a betrayal of what came before. It’s more like they’ve finally worked out what they’ve been chasing all along.
The shift is real though. Where their last record Exotico leaned into Sean Ono Lennon’s dreamy, island-concept production, BLISS strips everything back and plugs into late-90s European dance music. Think Faithless, Underworld, Massive Attack, Portishead. The band describe it as “melancholic euphoria,” and honestly, that nails it. There’s a wistful quality running through these two singles we’ve heard so far, like they’re nostalgic for a club scene they were too young to experience.
“Jet Stream Heart” and the Mission Statement (BLISS Review)
“Jet Stream Heart,” which landed in February, is the album’s opening statement. James Bagshaw told NME it’s “Kylie Minogue meets Daft Punk meets Temples,” and that’s weirdly accurate. It’s hypnotic, physical, built from samples the band took of themselves and chopped into fragments. There’s something hypnotic about how the guitars blur into synths, how the beat just keeps pulling you forward. It hit the Virgin Radio playlist and got BBC 6 Music spinning it constantly, which tells you people are paying attention.
“Vendetta” Goes Heavy (BLISS Review)
Then came “Vendetta” in April. This one’s heavier, built from two separate ideas the band welded together. There’s this almost Justice-Daft Punk sample that suddenly shifts into what feels like a David Guetta or Avicii moment, a proper dancefloor lift. The lyrics work too. “Sweet release in the same old morning / Sharp shock horror never seemed so boring / Bleed my money then you leave me dry / Please deliver me into the night.” Bagshaw explained it’s about disagreeing with your mates, falling out, then realising you were just both being arseholes. That specificity matters.
How They Got Here (BLISS Review)
What’s interesting is how they got here. After Exotico’s critical pummelling—people complained about muddy production and the thing being sixteen tracks too long—the band regrouped. They self-produced BLISS, all four of them in the same room, using homemade gear and sampling themselves rather than chasing other people’s records. It’s their first fully self-produced album since Volcano back in 2017. Walmsley said working together properly again “completely broke the creative cycle” they’d gotten stuck in.
What We Know About the Rest (BLISS Review)
The tracklist’s got some intriguing snippets floating around. “Revelations” apparently nods to Gregorian chants that kept popping up in dance records back then. “Megalith” is about frustration, that feeling of being stuck while the world moves. Adam Smith described it as finding inner stillness and realising maybe that’s not so pleasant after all. “Blue Flame” is supposed to be slower, icier, dealing with disconnection and the growing divide between people. Smith had been carrying that chorus for years.
The other tracks—”Glimmer,” “Jaguar,” “Horizon,” “Waiting On The Echoes,” and “Fantasy Realm”—remain mysterious, which is fine. Part of me wants to hear how they’ve handled a full album of this stuff before forming hard opinions.
Full Tracklist
- Jet Stream Heart
- Revelations
- Megalith
- Glimmer
- Blue Flame
- Vendetta
- Jaguar
- Horizon
- Waiting On The Echoes
The Numbers Tell a Story
Commercially speaking, the numbers tell a story. Sun Structures hit UK number 7. Volcano dropped to 23. Hot Motion fell to 51. Exotico crashed to 87. So yeah, there’s pressure here. This isn’t just an artistic choice, it’s also a band trying to remember why people were excited about them in the first place. Whether moving into dance territory wins them new people or loses the loyalists is the real question.
The Tour is Already Underway (BLISS Review)
The band are taking it serious on the road too. They’ve already done festival dates in Spain this May—Mallorca, Lugo, Alicante—and they’re running a full BLISS Tour through September to December. The US leg hits the obvious spots: LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, DC, Brooklyn, Boston, Toronto. Europe’s got Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Amsterdam. The UK’s getting Bristol, London’s Scala, Manchester, Glasgow in November. Poppy Jean Crawford’s supporting on the American dates.
So What’s the Verdict? (BLISS Review)
Something genuinely interesting is happening. The band sound reinvigorated, like they’ve given themselves permission to chase something other than the ghost of 1960s psychedelia. Whether BLISS actually lands as a great record or a misstep, we’ll find out soon. Either way, they’ve stopped playing it safe, and in 2026 that alone feels worth the risk.
Listen To “BLISS” by Temples (BLISS Review)
He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.
- Did The Ramones Actually Invent Punk Rock? - June 5, 2026
- Yard Act “You’re Gonna Need A Little Music” Review - June 4, 2026
- Is There Any Point In A Glastonbury Fallow Year? - June 3, 2026
