Temples strip back «Blue Flame» ahead of their November shows in Spain
Temples revisit «Blue Flame» from BLISS in an intimate session recorded in France, ahead of a run of Spanish shows in November.
Some songs invite grandeur; others reveal different details when everything around them becomes quieter. Temples have taken the latter approach to “Blue Flame”, revisiting a track from their latest album BLISS in a stripped-back session filmed during their French tour. It arrives as the British group prepare to return to Spanish venues in November.
Another way into “Blue Flame”
The Pickles live session was recorded at Artistic Palace and puts James Edward Bagshaw at the centre of an intimate performance. It is not a newly announced single or the beginning of another album campaign. The song first appeared on BLISS, released through V2 Records on 26 June 2026; the new development is the arrangement and the perspective.
That distinction is worth exploring. Temples’ psychedelic pop has long balanced sharply drawn melodies with elaborate instrumental textures. Their studio productions can create a whole environment around a song, so removing some of that architecture changes what the listener is invited to notice. Melody, phrasing and the relationship between a voice and the underlying harmony move into sharper focus.
A sparse version is not necessarily more ‘real’ than the studio original. These are two legitimate readings of the same material. What makes an acoustic session interesting is the gap between them — and what that gap reveals about the songwriting.
Keeping BLISS alive beyond release day
Rather than rushing towards the next record, the group are still letting BLISS develop through performances. Returning to a song from a relatively recent album underlines how music changes once it enters a live repertoire. The recording may be fixed; the arrangement need not be.
Six listed Spanish dates in November
According to the schedule circulated by Fever! Productions, Temples are due at Sala Capitol, Santiago de Compostela, on 16 November; Teatro Eslava, Madrid, on 17 November; Sala López, Zaragoza, on 18 November; Sala Aliatar, Granada, on 19 November; Sala X, Seville, on 20 November; and Antioxidante, Bullas, on 21 November. A Barcelona date also appeared in the press bulletin, but its scheduling conflicts with another listed show, so we have left it out pending clarification.
Those concerts will offer a different scale and energy from the Artistic Palace performance. Hearing both versions is a reminder that live music does not have to reproduce a recording in order to remain faithful to a song.
Details and the original announcement are in Fever! Productions’ press bulletin; ticket information is available via the promoter’s ticket link.