Charlotte rock quintet Temperance League starts its Friday
afternoon with a performance at Raleigh’s Hopscotch Festival today before
winding back across the state to headline its album release party at Snug
Harbor tonight. It follows that gig up with another Saturday at NoDa’s Chop
Shop, which hosts the mammoth three-day God Save the Queen City 2 festival.
While some bands might scoff at the mere travel or debate
about oversaturating the market, Temperance League seems to take an old school
approach - play. That old school philosophy permeates many aspects of
the band, including its new self-titled LP. Yep, LP. The 11-track album is out on vinyl and digital download only. That’s just how the group
rolls. It previously released a handful of 7” singles.
The sound of the new album follows that old school mentality
while heading away from the group’s political garage rock beginnings and more
in the direction of recent singles like “I Don’t Wanna"/“But I Have To.” While
I absolutely love some of those early rabble rousers like “No Jobs/More War”
and “Ain’t Nobody Listening,” the full-length comes across as a cohesive
collection.
Like its previous singles the album was recorded by famed NC
producer Mitch Easter (R.E.M.) at his Fidelitorium Studios in Kernersville.
Frontman Bruce Hazel
is frequently compared to Jersey’s favorite son and admitted influence Bruce
Springsteen (Hazel also hails from there), and he puts his Bossiest foot
forward on the opener “Pursuit of the Past” before reaching deeper into the
rock n’ roll canon with the aforementioned combo of “I Don’t Wanna” and “But I
Have To.” I could imagine a girl group like the Ronettes singing the former, while
the latter rides a sort of `60s psychedelia groove as, if willing, Temperance
League could offer a grittier take on the music of psychedelic movies like “Beyond
the Valley of the Dolls.”
Along with Hazel, Temperance League includes an
all-star lineup of locals in Shawn Lynch, Chad Wilson, David Kim, and Eric
Scott. Its members are connected enough to the local music scene to draw a
crowd, but to its credit those crowds keep returning as the group’s sound
continues to evolve.
Although the record is deeply rooted in old rock n’ roll,
classic garage rock, and the `60s, `70s and early `80s, it hits on so many
different facets of those decades that it’s never stuck in one simple genre. “(I) Dreamed Last Night” is a crooner that imagines
Elvis fronting the Byrds.
“Your World” and “Homecoming” both connect to the sort of
grand anthem that Springsteen does well and are elevated by the guitar work and
“oooh, ah” style backing vocals. “Bigger Things” echoes that format by building tension and hope with a repeated melody. All of these elements seem to
come into the play on the breakup track “Our Romance” (which is in the running
along with “Your World” and “Homecoming” for my favorite). That song bridges jangle pop, Byrds-like harmonies, girl group arrangements, and that
Boss-like longing that comes across in the sustain of a guitar phrase.
Appropriately “Moving Forward” (as well as “Don’t Give Up”)
is probably the most contemporary track on the record with its distorted guitar
and climbing feel.
You can grab a copy and catch the band's free show Fridayat Snug Harbor with Mark Crozer
& the Rels, Hungry Girl, and Loose Lugnuts or tomorrow during God Save the
Queen City 2 at NoDa’s Chop Shop. Tickets for the latter are $15 or $30 for a
weekend pass that includes performances from 40 bands. Or if you don't have a record player, the album is available for download here.
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