Templeton high in pecking order
Charlotte Barnes catches up with Birmingham three-piece Templeton Pek in concert and finds it a joyous experience.
Templeton Pek
Bar Academy, Birmingham
By Charlotte Barnes
Having recently got back into attending live performances, I expected to feel out of place at my latest outing into Birmingham's music scene.
No longer a wide-eyed teenager with more make-up than sense, I had prepared myself to feel old and slightly past it.
So, imagine my joy when arriving at the Templeton Pek gig at Bar Academy and seeing probably one of the widest range of ages, backgrounds and hairstyles ever collected.
As one of the city's breakaway groups, the band has used it's time wisely and managed to draw in a variety of music listeners over the years, thanks to a confident stage presence and some seriously catchy tunes.
Despite what you may have prepared yourself to expect from this band, their music is a wholly original experience.
Getting straight into it, Pek's strength lies in its ability to draw you in with the first few notes and keep you there. Their debut album, No Association, may be the soundtrack of a new generation but it refuses to alienate or close its ranks to anyone over 30.
The album's heavier tracks are centred around that heart-thumping style that starts down at your feet and ends up ricoheting around your ribcage, while the smoother sounds conjure up images of smoky acoustic sets that would be right at home in downtown New York.
Templeton Pek gives the impression of a band that started with the music and the style came after. When they're playing, it's almost possible to see their progression from off-the-cuff jamming in a friend's living room to the well-practiced sessions of the recording studio.
Frontman Neal Mitchell speaks with a real fondness for the journey the band has made over the last few years, and it's refreshing to hear a sense of awe retained when chatting about music tours and new releases.
For Neal, Templeton Pek is inspired by good songs and great music and this is reflected in the belting tunes produced.
Simply being "out there", playing music and enjoying themselves is the ultimate dream for this three-piece band from Birmingham.
Photo by John Ashby - www.flickr.com/photos/johnashby
