The Tempilstiks release new single, ‘Market Street’
Words: Lydia Carter
★★★★☆
Hailing from Aberdeen, Scotland, The Tempilstiks deliver a gritty rush of adrenaline with ‘Market Street’, a song that feels like it is made for a packed, sweaty room with amps turned all the way up.
Photo: Darren Mcallister
The song starts slow, rolling, before falling into raspy vocals that paint a picture of a low lit stage.
Lyrically, it reminds me of temptation and inevitable consequences. The opening lines, with “the street is a market now baby, and I’ve got money to burn”, sets up a metaphor of a transactional world of impulse that we are giving into. What stands out most is the escalating tension. The casual exchange of “what’s your poison?” and “any substance you got will do” really captures reckless abandon with stark simplicity.
The repetition of “what we gonna do?” works great as a hook, reinforcing both the chaos of the moment and the spiralling loss of control. By the final verse, the tone swings back upward, except it is manic now. “Gonna kiss these stars, punch right through the fucking sky CMON!” feels less triumphant and more unhinged.
The lyrics have a raw, garage-rock feel. There is no over-complication, just sharp images and a sense of urgency. The profanity doesn’t feel unjustified, but enhances the emotional impatience of the song.
Twice, the track dips into a quiet unexpectedly, like the moment after a long shout where you almost fall forward into silence…and then you’re pulled back into the chaos. It kept me listening, and felt different from what they have offered before. Compared to ‘Over and Over’ and ‘Number 1’, this track feels more refined. Where ‘Over and Over’ looped and ‘Number 1’ leaned into punchy bravado, this third release shows a band who trusts restraint where appropriate and the chaos of their own craft. The dips make the chaotic returns land even harder.
Overall, Market Street feels like a proper step forward for The Templestiks. It still has the grit and urgency that made their earlier singles great, but there is more control here, more shape, more confidence in letting moments breathe before everything kicks off again.
It sounds like a band figuring out exactly who they are and pushing that sound a little further each time. If this is the direction they are heading in, they are only getting stronger.