Released: March Genre: Rock Metacritic Rating: N/A
The second release from Tiny Engines to make my top five records of the 2014, Somos’ Temple Of Plenty never really felt like an obvious inclusion. Listening to it, as I am doing now, it doesn’t necessarily sound like an ‘album of the year’, which may sound odd considering that I’ve ranked it above labelmates The Hotelier, who certainly released a record with an AOTY feel to it.
I sat down to write this list, and when doing so I wanted it to be a conclusive list of records I’ve enjoyed, be it for their emotionally burdened nature, or their general musical appeal. It’s this classification, the extent to which I’ve enjoyed a release, which forces me to rank Somos, anything but begrudgingly, so highly. Temple Of Plenty is a release which I never fail to enjoy, and listening to it is undoubtedly the most fun I’ve had with a record in 2014. ‘Fun’ may seem like an odd word choice, it is, but punk music can be fun, right (?), although there’s a carefree, upbeat feel to Temple Of Plenty which makes it a pleasingly accessible record unconfined to a particular genre. It’s tough to pin down, but that’s part of the magic. Very refreshing and equally memorable the record is full of hits, populated with catchy hooks and standout lines, with the huge Dead Wrong a firm highlight, one of the year’s best tracks.
Four days prior to writing this I was travelling home from University, and this trip back up north included a six hour train journey. I listened to Temple Of Plenty for the entirety of said journey. I had 160GB of music in my pocket, and I stuck with the same nine songs throughout, and I think that says a fair amount about the band’s debut record, I hope it does at least. Train journeys suck, but this one didn’t, and that’s solely down to Somos. I can listen to Temple Of Plenty and kick back, simply enjoy some good music, and sometimes that’s all I want from a record, a means to pass the time and do so in a way which feels like I’ve made the most of every second.. Temple Of Plenty is an excellent usage of your time, and it does deserve it’s spot on this list, even if I’m doing a shit job of expressing that. You might just have to take my word for it, sorry.
Craig Reviews Music 
[…] I could’ve mentioned that I like to write after listening to a particular track on Boston four-piece Somos’ debut LP Temple of Plenty. Though definitely not an instrumental record, it distracts me to a lesser degree than most of my collection and inspires me all the same. It’s an easy, pleasant listen of near-perfect indie-rock, released in 2014 by the exemplary Tiny Engines label. Those who’ve heard it will likely agree about the records charming character – infectious and melodic, very easy to like. Across its twenty-eight minute runtime, it doesn’t do a whole lot wrong. It’s just, good. It also features one of my favorite songs of recent years -third track Dead Wrong – which I referred to at the start of this paragraph. Listening to that song, for whatever reason, makes me want to create, makes me want to write. Maybe it’s the references to the nine-to-five lifestyle I so keenly want to avoid. Maybe it’s the melody and tight rhymes, It’s a song about work, about the monotony of the daily grind, and it makes me reflect on the (thankfully) short period I spent occupied by that routine. It was a routine I found creatively stifling, and Somos get that; there’s something about their song that makes me want to write as I wasn’t able to during that time. Some of my better (?) works have stemmed from sessions sparked by a run-through of Temple of Plenty. If I begin with Dead Wrong, I make sure that the rest of the record is given chance as well – it’s a great lesson from a band I still find to be underrated despite their quality. Fun fact: it was my third favorite record of 2014. […]