Joe Tell's Music Blog: Temple Garden

Temple Garden - Austin, Texas

"Redshift" is the first album by the psychedelic rock band Temple Garden. Formed in Austin, TX after moving from Canton, OH in 2019. "Redshift" is the culmination of the music written and self-produced during 2020's lockdown by the band. Temple Gardem was formed when brothers Eric and Brandon Carbenia joined with James Cosner to create new music in their home studio. The release of the 13 track album is accompanied by a 4 part radio drama mini-series inspired by the golden age of radio and Orson Welles. The release of the album is supported by a music video for Redshift and several 360-degree listening videos that put you in the driver's seat of the patrol ship as you listen through the album's leading singles Redshift and Vacuum Sky.

The sci-fi concept of both the album and radio play follows a space patrolman named Miro who is exiled from a galactic armada due to a forbidden romance with the patrol ship's AI guidance system. He goes on a series of adventures through the universe as he flees the terrible Galactik Kommandoh and seeks a way to hide from the all-seeing eye of the Matrioshka Brain, a supercomputer the size of a planet that monitors the universe for the armada.

Musically, Temple Garden takes influence from everything from modern psychedelic rock like Tame Impala and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard to classic progressive rock groups such as King Crimson and Magma.

Redshift by Temple Garden music review by Joe Tell.

First I must comment on the cover art, Temple Garden brilliantly uses sci-fi/pulp imagery create a mind-set before the music starts. After further exploring the CD art I found that the song titles further enhance the spacy artwork. Onto the music, the Intro is ominous and signals the start of the intense musical journey that is about to begin. Mourning Glory is a multi-instrumental, progressive, alternative rock track. The unique song uses a wall of sound to create a floating mood as the music plays on. For me the icing on the cake is a Zappaesque guitar solo that cuts through the mix like a knife. The next song, Android Babe (Luria), tells of a forbidden love between a man and a machine. What sounds like a mix between a keyboard and a guitar plays a melodic line that carries the song along until a psychedelic interlude/jam takes the song out. Galactik Kommandoh is an uptempo rocker that proves Temple Garden is a highly talented and well versed band. The main part of the song reminded me of Rush from there the song then morphs into another spectacular, spacy psychedelic jam which is then topped off with a fantastic Pink Floydesque saxophone solo. If that wasn't enough the song then uses a samba beat (wow!) to transition into the outro. This song has elements of jazz fusion, with its Jan Hammer like keyboard lines, heavy Led Zeppelin guitar sounds and amazing guitar/bass articulation reminiscent of 70's Yes. Galactik Kommandoh is my favorite song on Redshift. The title track, Redshift, is next and song is placed perfectly on the playlist to maximize it's impact. Redshift highlights the vocals and keyboards to create a haunting melody that will occupy your mind long after you're done listening. The intro for the next song, Starsea, conveys a feeling of loneliness and dread. As the verse music kicks in a feeling of hope takes over but the lyrics continue down a lonely path. The music blends the progressive rock sounds of classic Genesis and Yes. Vacuum Sky is another excellent progressive rock mind bender. A spacy guitar solo with plenty of digital delay brings in a high vocal part that dominates the rest of the track along with a wavy keyboard figure. Mr. Mikey's Megalithic Ziggurat is a fantastic title and the music matches the awesome title. Temple Garden impresses yet again with an intense, guitar heavy intro showing another side of the band. The band uses feedback and an overdriven bass line to create a sense of aggression. The guitar rules on this track as melodic lines and stinging solos weave in and out of the mix. The spoken lines reminded me of the end of the Rush song Rush:2112 theme song. This song is one of the best on the release. The Tower Of Infinity continues the previous song and serves to further the interstellar story line. The band performs another impressive musical backdrop. I was immediately intrigued by the title of the next track, I Left My Marlboros on A7C. I was happily surprised by the familiar and legendary When The Levee Breaks drum sound. The slap back sound peaked my interest and drew me into the instrumental music. This song showcases the excellent musicianship of each member of the band. The repeating percussion sounds are mesmerizing and they cut are short by an evil cackle. The Elders Of Tunkasilan is melodic but sounds somber and conveys of feeling of thoughtful sadness. Chameleon continues the mood with its hypnotizing mid tempo groove. A few spacy effects add to the soundscape. The groove builds in intensity and then slows down to a crawl ending with a huge bang on a gong. Vex uses a familiar sci-fi soundbite to set up the end of one of the most impressive debut albums I have ever reviewed. The final instrumental track creates the feeling that you are traveling through space and time on an intergalactic journey. Listening to Temple Garden's Redshift on a cellphone or a laptop does not do the music justice, I highly recommend wearing headphones when you decide to listen. Redshift by Temple Garden will take you on a musical journey and it is one of the best independent releases of 2021 so far, highly recommended! Check out the links below to hear and see more about Temple Garden.

Special thanks to Temple Garden for expressing interest in my music blog.

Temple Garden is an independent psychedelic rock band from Austin Texas. "Redshift" is our concept-oriented debut and will be released on April 30th, preceded by our title track single, "Redshift" on March 4th, as well as music videos, virtual reality listening videos, and an extended version that includes an Orson Welles style radio drama to be released with animated shorts on social media.