The Temperance Movement - White Bear

Difficult second album and all that? The Temperance Movement are having none of it. If the debut of 2011 arrived as a defibrillator-in-disguise for a genre that seemed out of time and out of place then 2015’s White Bear comes as ample proof that the recovery is in good hands. Throwing all of that momentum into this record the five-piece bring something bigger, better, bolder, and Phil Campbell wastes no time tearing into the words of opener Three Bulleits like he’s been starved of lyrical sustenance for the last four years. From here it’s all guitar squeals and smoky blues beats and, probably, plays out pretty much how you’d hope – with some surprises thrown in along the way. There’s something infectious running through the soul of Get Yourself Free and Oh Lorraine drops a huge Kasabian-esque vibe right in the middle of things. The chaps like to dip into softer territory at times and here it can be hit and miss; it saps from what titular track White Bear could have been but drapes I Hope I’m Not Losing My Mind in quiet power. Some you win, some you lose. Gladly, Temperance are almost always winning.