British rockers The Temperance Movement exploded onto the scene in 2013 with their self-titled debut album. Despite being a couple of songs too long it was still a very promising debut, showing the bands’ love of bluesy, classic rock and country influenced songs. It was certainly promising enough to earn them a support slot on The Rolling Stones European tour anyway, a great feat for any new band. When they returned two years later with ‘White Bear’, it was initially disappointing but time has been kind and it has proved to be a consistent and solid second album.
So a lot of expectation fell on The Temperance Movement to deliver an album that keeps their momentum going while offering enough great songs to keep fans interested and gain new ones to. Fortunately, with ‘A Deeper Cut’ the band have written an album that not only proves why they have become so popular in the UK rock scene but a classy element of song writing skill and talent adding to their already impressive set of songs shows this is a band on the cusp of something special.
Opening with three catchy, bluesy rockers in Caught in the Middle, Built-in Forgetter and surely soon to be live favourite, Love and Devotion, ‘A Deeper Cut’ starts on a high and from then on it’s a solid mixture of heartfelt, slower songs and mid-paced rockers. The country influence is still there on occasion. During the mid-album coupling of Another Spiral and the brilliant Beast Nation, but they have refined their sound and it’s a more mature, classic rock influenced sound now.
So no out-and-out rockers like Midnight Black or Modern Massacre on ‘A Deeper Cut’ but that influence still shines throughout. This is credit to the band whose song writing and musicianship seems to have really gelled and also vocalist Phil Campbell, whose already fine voice really excels here, bringing Rod Stewart to mind at times.
Third albums are notoriously difficult for bands. Especially those who’ve already had a strong start with the weight of expectation hanging on their shoulders. These albums can make or break a band but with ‘A Deeper Cut’, The Temperance Movement have delivered a high quality third album full of timeless sounding songs that should see their fan base grow the world over, hopefully.
It’s far too early to say if ‘A Deeper Cut’ is a rock classic but in terms of the scene in 2018, ‘A Deeper Cut’ is a contender for classic rock album of the year.
