Melancholy and Euphoria: Temples on 'Bliss' and Bringing Their New Era to Life on Tour
Thursday, 13 August 2026
Written by Laura Mills
Photo: Jimmy Fontaine
For more than a decade, Temples have produced a repertoire of versatile sounds across four LPs of psychedelic goodness. But, even considering this track record, the band have now entered a new era with ‘Bliss’, a record that leans further into sharp dance‑driven textures, including pulsing synths, crisp electronic beats and club-style rhythms, than ever before.
Singer and guitarist James Bagshaw insists, though, that they’re still very much in touch with what’s made the band tick. “To us, they’re not that different,” he says. “Bands like Air, Underworld, Basement Jaxx, Faithless, make hypnotic, psychedelic music, just in a dance realm.”
“It’s all about sound choices,” he continues. “If we’d used the same drum sounds as our first record, these songs wouldn’t feel dance‑driven. The synths, pads, and textures shape that world. We love the idea of songs, with verses and choruses, that still live inside dance music’s hypnotic space.”
Read on as Bagshaw reveals more about what to expect from Temples’ latest moves, including on their upcoming North American and European tours, alongside their upcoming November UK run, which includes stops in Bristol, London, Manchester and Glasgow.
What emotional space were you aiming for with ‘Bliss’?
“There was a real sense of creative freedom making this record. We kept coming back to this idea of melancholy and euphoria coexisting. That duality is everywhere on the album. We felt it while making it — there were euphoric moments, but also a kind of melancholy woven through the chords and atmosphere. That’s the emotional space we hoped listeners would feel too.”
You produced the album yourselves. What did that unlock creatively?
“Not working on someone else’s clock is huge. Recording at home meant no red‑light fever, no pressure. I know my gear inside out including its strengths and its limitations so I’m not fighting with unfamiliar equipment in a fancy studio. Self‑producing is freeing. If the songs do well, it’s one of the best feelings in the world because it’s literally something we made at home. And if they don’t, we’ve only got ourselves to blame. It’s empowering, especially as working‑class musicians.”
How did self‑sampling change your songwriting dynamic?
“It takes the pressure off. Sometimes I’d just sing a load of instinctive nonsense into the sampler, throwing paint at the canvas and then we’d deconstruct and reconstruct it into something new. Instead of sampling old records, we treated our own recordings as raw material. You can turn a chopped vocal into a motif, or slow something down into a pad. You’re playing the sound, not just manipulating it. It’s fun, and it gives you a head start creatively.”
Jetstream Heart feels like a defining moment of the new Temples sound. When did you realise that?
“We were actually going to self‑release it before signing with V2 Records. There’s an early mix that exists, but the final version is 10 times better. It’s very Temples, but also really fresh, probably the most forward‑sounding thing we’ve done. The funny thing is, it never had a chorus melody for ages. And Adam [Smith, guitar] hated the riff at first. That resistance gave the song a certain energy. You don’t want yes people all the time.”
Have you changed your live setup to make the new songs hit on stage?
“Definitely. Rens [Ottink] has more to play with on drums, and I’ve got a whole vocal effects chain I can manipulate live. The new songs sound like amplified versions of the record, lo‑fi moments, distortion, delays because I’m doing it all myself, not relying on front‑of‑house. It’s made everything more immersive, even the older songs. Revisiting them with the new vocal setup has been great.”
What kind of connection are you hoping to build with fans on this tour?
“Movement in the crowd is important. On stage it’s like a sound bath! You can’t always hear the crowd, but you can see them. I think Jetstream Heart will pull people in from bar one. And I’ll be interacting more because I’m not tied to guitar for whole songs. It’s nerve-racking, but doing the record‑store shows helped. Once the lights are on, it’ll feel like a party.”
Are there any past versions of Temples you are excited to leave behind?
“We don’t regret anything and we loved what we made at the time. But there are songs on past records that probably should’ve been B-sides. Usually, they’re the ones we never play live. Live performance is a good test of a song’s strength. Even some singles don’t make the setlist, and that’s fine.”
If ‘Bliss’ is a reset, what does the next version of Temples look like?
“We don’t sit down and plan a direction. We never have a board meeting about what’s allowed or not allowed. Right now we’re working on ideas, but we’re not thinking, ‘Is this part of ‘Bliss’ or the next thing?’ It’s just music. The press will decide what era it belongs to, and we’ll agree or disagree. It’s all free rein to use whatever makes the song the best it can be.”
Temples Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri September 11 2026 - AUSTIN Texas - Mohawk Outdoors at Mohawk Austin - Complex (USA)
Sat September 12 2026 - DALLAS Texas - Trees (USA)
Tue September 15 2026 - DENVER Colorado - Bluebird Theater (USA)
Thu September 17 2026 - TUCSON Arizona - La Rosa (USA)
Fri September 18 2026 - PIONEERTOWN California - Pappy and Harriets Pioneertown Palace (USA)
Sat September 19 2026 - LOS ANGELES California - Teragram Ballroom (USA)
Sun September 20 2026 - SAN DIEGO California - Casbah (USA)
Tue September 22 2026 - SAN FRANCISCO California - Chapel (USA)
Wed September 23 2026 - SAN FRANCISCO California - Chapel (USA)
Fri September 25 2026 - PORTLAND Oregon - Mississippi Studios (USA)
Sat September 26 2026 - SEATTLE Washington - Tractor (USA)
Sun September 27 2026 - VANCOUVER British Columbia - Pearl (Canada)
Mon November 09 2026 - BRISTOL Strange Brew
Thu November 12 2026 - LONDON Scala
Fri November 13 2026 - MANCHESTER White Hotel
Sat November 14 2026 - GLASGOW King Tut's
Fri November 27 2026 - TORONTO Ontario - Lee's Palace (Canada)
Sat November 28 2026 - MONTREAL Quebec - Theatre Fairmount (Canada)
Sun November 29 2026 - PORTLAND Maine - Portland House of Music and Events (HOME) (USA)
Mon November 30 2026 - CAMBRIDGE MA Massachusetts - Sinclair Music Hall (USA)
Wed December 02 2026 - NEW YORK New York - Warsaw (USA)
Thu December 03 2026 - PHILADELPHIA Pennsylvania - Underground Arts (USA)
Fri December 04 2026 - WASHINGTON District of Columbia - Atlantis Complex (USA)
Sat December 05 2026 - CARRBORO North Carolina - Cats Cradle - Complex (USA)
Mon December 07 2026 - ATLANTA Georgia - Terminal West (USA)
Tue December 08 2026 - NASHVILLE Tennessee - Mil at Cannery Hall - Complex (USA)
Wed December 09 2026 - INDIANAPOLIS Indiana - HI-FI Indy at The HI-FI - Complex (USA)
Thu December 10 2026 - MADISON Wisconsin - High Noon Saloon (USA)
Fri December 11 2026 - SAINT PAUL Minnesota - Turf Club at First Avenue - Complex (USA)
Sat December 12 2026 - CHICAGO Illinois - Thalia Hall Chicago (USA)
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