FOUR

TEMPLE OF SWITCHES debuted in 2012 breaking down musical barriers by delivering dark, contemplative, dissonant, unrestrained, variegated alternative rock; brief avant-garde where jazzy and melancholy touches are added; founded by Tenk VAN DOOL and helped by drummer David WHITE of the group RATTLEFACE, they released this 4th opus with bluffing atonal sounds which must be ignored at the start. A progressive cinematic album where the eccentric is in order, where the classic mixes with the pure progressive of the 70's.

'Welcome' as an instrumental preamble title, rock with latent electronic components, its own from the start reminiscent of the Focus. 'Your Fly is Down' vocal Nick Cave or Rik Ocasek or David Bowie, electro new wave a tad offbeat, bucolic and psychedelic synth variation, strange, the bass prints a strong base. 'The Wind' operates a 180° musical shift with a clean air, Amanda Lehmann flirting with her borderline voice Marianne Faithfull; vibrant and subdued atmosphere on a spleen of sirens, the majestic organ adding a layer, sublime. 'Pareidolia' delves even further with this Arabicizing, eclectic and psychedelic Dead Can Dance instrumental; a bit of the Doors vibe in a trance with this monolithic reverb. Captivating and hypnotic, clear and filled with wisdom. 'Dale's Neglected Song' on a drum solo starting on a psychedelic The Cure; a bit of Focus, a master drumstick-drummed vintage rhythm by David for a trip down memory lane. 'Human Zoo' spins 90 degrees and goes to Crimsonian lands all to a high voice that amplifies instrumental dramatic grandeur; a title that surprises in a singular register with a final Genesis or Hackettian solo, it's up to you to see.

'Llamada a San Cristobal (Chepo's song)' on a Yessian declination for the bass and Genesis for the keyboards, the latent side and the flute, a beautiful bucolic Canterburyan instrumental exercise before moving on to 'the Unfurling' for the piece, thundering moment with delicate primary breaks, variegated tempo flirting on jazz with piano and its dark Crimsonian debauchery; uncompromising art rock with back and forth from the 70s to the recent 90s, an inexplicable title, surely one of the most beautiful progressive pieces of the decade with a contemplative final decrescendo. 'Freeway' denotes, heavy rock title of the 70's on the line of Blue Oyster Cult, always with a dissonant voice. 'Go Champion' drives the nail, the first Alice Cooper or T-Rex, on the glam in fact. 'Lemongrass and Thyme' for the finale on a singular bucolic variation, a mixture of Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash for the phrasing; it's still confusing, intimate and melancholy yet enjoyable and vibrant; necessary to rest his ears from this uncompromising musical niche.

A bucolic album with mud, light rain, showers of petals, an eclectic album mixing various genres, simmered to get out of quirky and crazy retro prog but full of sensitivity, spleen, new musical sense. TEMPLE OF SWITCHES just did that dexterously; an album to listen to differently.