I respect the transparency of this tape. The brief liner notes lay it out: Kevin M. Richards, sole member behind the Temples moniker, performs all sounds "on the electric guitar with the aid of a lot of borrowed amps and pedals." As a listener, I feel that I can hear moments where Richards pulls new and unexpected sounds out of his set-up; perhaps a lack of total, intimate familiarity with the equipment on-hand aids in this process of discovery. Also, the cover image shows the floor littered with pedals, tangles of wire, and flanked by amps, lending a visual component to the proceedings.

Each side of this approximately 40 minute tape begins well. Side A opens with textured overlapping drones, and at least initially, the distinctly guitar-like tones serve to embellish them and add a shifting, active layer to them. However, there are also moments where it seems like the clutter of delayed single note runs overwhelms the base of the track, feeling overindulgent rather than integral to the piece as a whole. Once these subside, grounding, alternating tones continue, almost heartbeat like for a compelling, minimal stretch before they are again obscured by extraneous layers.

The second side follows a similar trajectory. The first few minutes of Side B are more interesting and almost startling, in a relatively low-key way. It sounds like a particularly raw signal from the guitar, or possibly the tone created by pressing a finger to the exposed end of a 1/4" cable. These pulses are treated and begin to interact in ways that resemble homespun, synth-less dance music. There's an energy here, a straddling of styles and genres that comes from the playing itself, emerging from the process. It feels both spontaneous in its generation and careful in its shaping simultaneously. Eventually this motion is pushed aside by dissonance and more active guitar work that feels scattered compared to the wonderful opening.

There are stretches of this tape that I love, but each time I listen to it, I'm left with the feeling that there's a great C20 that could be crafted from this longer work. 6/10 -- Howard Martin (8 July, 2009)