HERE IS YOUR TEMPLE – NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB, LONDON

Swedish five piece Here is your Temple caused a wave of anticipation at the start of the year with very good reason, their debut EP‘ So High’ contains five tracks of tainted majesty that is impossible to decline, containing the kind of anthemic bluster that even Win Butler would describe as a bit OTT.

Tonight’s gig, one of their first in London has them showcasing this EP amongst a few other tracks. Live, their wide-screen big ideas struggle to come to the fore due to inadequacies of the sound equipment in the venue but they’re there. The dreamy intro to the pastoral ‘Daniel’ begins as a Wickerman redux starring a pre junked up Nico trying to reach the high notes her baritone voice couldn’t, halfway through; the acoustica is cast aside as the tune cranks into metronomic krautrock influenced indie pop with spooky vocal delights.

Front woman Emily McWilliams’s vocal styling is half Toni Halliday whisper crossed with a young Marianne Faithful if she laid off the fags. Dressed in leather, cowboy hat and ripped jumper, she’s a captivating fusion of non-committal and caring too much and the tight band behind her knows exactly what to do with her voice. The epic ‘So High’ is spikier, whereas ‘Once rich’ is bright eyed and sweet, wildly optimistic drenched in joyful synths.

These are early times for the band but with a knock out debut EP under their belts, the seeds have been sowed, now to stand back and watch something beautiful bloom.7.6/10
Chris Todd