Short Reviews [Temple of Switches - 2020 - "The Wings of Mind"]

I get the impression, rightly or wrongly, that this 2020 album initially started in one direction and then changes happened in personnel which resulted in it becoming a mix of two quite different sets of styles and sounds. Mike had also now changed his name, so anyone just looking at the line-ups would have been ever more confused. Mike is now Tenk Van Dool (guitar, keyboards, bass (2,3,7,9), drums (3,7,9), vocals & lyrics (1,6,9)) and Temple of Switches have become a band again with the addition of Dale Wiser (bass (1,4,5,6,8), vocals (4)) and drummer David White (1,4,5,6,8) – notice how these last two are on the same five songs? Singer Clara Hembree, who was involved with the last album, sings on one song, drummer Gaetano Nicolosi returns to play on one, previous singer Kevin McConnell provides keyboards and vocals on two songs, but none of those are the ones featuring Dale and David, while singer Jim Chavez is on two of the ones that do. It feels like we have two different bands recording half the album each, with Tenk being the only consistent player. This comes through in much of the music as well, with the band of Tenk, Dale and David often much heavier (although “Don't Cry to Me” would stylistically fit better with the “other” band), which means that the third album is very much an amalgam of the first two. Which one is preferred is down to the listener and their own personal preference, but I found it was when they most came across like the debut that I enjoyed this most. Tenk is a phenomenal rock guitarist, and when he allows himself to really go is when the band comes alive, driven by his consistent riffing and dynamic solos. That being said, I enjoyed Clara’s vocals on the last album and “Back Seat” is a total delight, even if it is totally different to what it follows. It is unusual to find a band switching personnel and styles so much within a single album, and while this does lead to some different consistency and provide some difficulty for the listener this is yet again another strong release which is worth checking out.