Tempalay
Raw psych pop with healthy helpings of rock and roll
Tempalay come into tonight with a bit of a handicap, with frontman Ryota breaking a finger after the festival opening party. However, they called in favours to steal guitarists from Mono no Aware, Denims and Wozniak for one song each. Their first song starts off as fairly normal psychedelic pop with a hopping beat and swirls of guitar. However, it takes a detour into an indie pop chorus with Ryota’s rugged, swaggering voice supported by Natsuki’s calmer female voice.
This sets the standard for the rest of the set, with the band happy to steal the best parts of genres and ram them into a psych pop setting. The second song is a summery number with washes of golden reverb overlaid with ringing voice. A lofi edge emerges before electronica beats enter, with a pop chorus leading straight into a rock breakdown. It sounds too messy to make it fit in one song but the band makes it work with style. The third sets off rocking before calming down with chiming pop chords and a beach surf beat and then explodes back again with a yelling and jumping chorus.
They finish the set with all band (and guests) karaoke, the drummer going crazy after being released from behind his kit and jumping all over. It’s a great communal feeling it brings to the end and they promise next time to aim for a bigger stage. It’s great to see the amount of Rookie bands increasing year on year at the fest and Tempalay have put themselves right up there as one of the best of the 2015 Rookie class.
