Austin gothy dream pop band Temple Of Angels have been making music for over six years, beginning with their S/T and Foiled EPs in 2018, and now the band–whose guitarist Cole Tucker also plays in the metal band Haunter–have released their first full-length album, Endless Pursuit, via Run For Cover. The album takes influence from vocalist Bre Morell’s dreams, as she explains: “Sometimes a beautiful dream will sneak in past the nightmares, which inspire a lot of my writing as well, specifically these dreams I had as a teenager that took place in a past or future life in some kind of parallel universe. I’ve been thinking about those dreams for 16+ years and they still consume me.”
To celebrate the LP release, members of Temple Of Angels have also told us about some of the musical (and a few more non-musical) influences that shaped the album–including The Cure, The Chameleons, The Sundays, Mulholland Drive, living together, and more. Stream Endless Pursuit below, and read on for their list.
Influences behind Temple Of Angels’ Endless Pursuit
The Cure – “Open”
I think about The Cure’s live video for “Open” on their Wish tour almost daily. The footage of friends and couples outside the venue passing time by dancing/kissing/laughing while the song intro is playing. I think it captures a perfect moment of anticipation and joy, while the lyrics for the song are about a horrible night out in contrast – two feelings that I wanted to emulate on our album. – Avery Burton (guitar)
Synth
In previous releases we haven’t added synth into the mix of our sound even though most assumed we had. This time around towards the end of the recording process we thought it would add more texture and a nice layer sonically so Philip Odom lended his talent to help us incorporate this instrument. – Cole Tucker (guitar)
The Sundays – “You’re Not the Only One I Know”
One of the very few songs I could just listen to on repeat back to back for hours and find something new to love about it every time… I became completely obsessed with this song around the time we were writing/recording, and I’m sure its influence seeped out on a few of these songs. Something about her style of writing and the gentle, intimate quality of her vocal performance is just absolute perfection. – Bre Morell (vocals)
Living together
I think Avery, Patrick, and myself (Cole) living in the same house really helped the songwriting of this album. We were able to constantly jam together and bounce ideas off each other at any time. Also being immersed in each others influences, discovering new music, and new experiences together really helped bring a unified but diverse sound to the album. – Cole Tucker (guitar)
A lighter touch
In the past we have been thrown into the overlapping genres such as goth, post punk, shoegaze etc. On this album there is a heavier dose of pop/dream pop in the song writing and sound. While we are always compared to bands like Cocteau Twins, who have a wide range of sound, this time around we collectively tapped bands such as The Sundays and The Cure for inspiration. While scaling back on the effects we will always be a heavily layered band with our sound. – Cole Tucker (guitar)
The Texas music scene
Texas scene is always an inspiration to write more and write better. Friends and bands I can attribute that to would be Victor Gutierrez (Impalers/Fugitive) , Mike Sharp (Hatred Surge), Cole Tucker (TOA), all of our friends in Narrow Head, Nosferatu, Stunted Youth, legends Iron Age and Power Trip, too many to name. I love my friends. -Avery Burton (guitar)
The Chameleons – Script Of The Bridge
I always want to pay homage to the bands that I appreciate and listen to on a daily basis with my guitar playing. So I think this album and band have made a big impact on this album and on the bands sound as a whole. – Cole Tucker (guitar)
Mulholland Drive
The beautiful and dreamy yet straight up horrifying nature of all of Lynch’s work is something that has always really resonated with me, and this movie is a perfect example of that. Most of what I’m writing about in this project is pulled from my dreams/nightmares which share a similarly disconcerting, anxious feeling, and I’m often trying to convey that in the music. – Bre Morell (vocals)
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Temple Of Angels will be on tour in the coming weeks, beginning with an appearance at Sound and Fury Festival in LA. Tickets for the tour are available now.
Temple Of Angels come to Brooklyn on August 18 at Union Pool. All dates below.
Temple Of Angels — 2023 Tour Dates
07/30 Los Angeles, CA @ Sound & Fury Festival
07/31 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
08/02 Portland, OR @ Polaris
08/03 Seattle, WA @ High Dive
08/05 Boise, ID @ Neurolux
08/07 Denver, CO @ 7th Circle
08/09 Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge
08/10 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
08/11 Milwaukee, WI @ X-Ray
08/12 Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
08/13 Detroit, MI @ Pike Room
08/14 Toronto, ON @ Monarch
08/15 Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo
08/17 Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts
08/18 New York, NY @ Union Pool
08/19 Philadelphia, PA @ Foto Club
08/20 Washington, DC @ Rhizome
08/22 Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
08/23 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
08/25 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
08/26 Austin, TX @ Parish
08/27 Dallas, TX @ Cheap Steaks