Luke Temple
Don't Act Like You Don't Care
Release Date: Aug 16, 2011
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk
Record label: Western Vinyl Records
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Album Review: Don't Act Like You Don't Care by Luke Temple
Fairly Good, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 7.5/10
Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care, Brooklyn songwriter Luke Temple’s third full-length solo album, arrives at an odd time in his career. His second album with psych-pop darlings Here We Go Magic—the colorful, highly polished Pigeons—was released just last year, elevating his typically lo-fi bedroom recording technique to a series of exciting full-band destinations. Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care is a step in the completely opposite direction, downplaying the electricity of his band in favor of nine mostly stripped-down, acoustic meditations—recorded partially on a four-track and utilizing guest players only as occasional window-dressing.
Based on rating 7/10
Of late, there’s been too much disingenuous faffing around the ether of the diluted essence of the once-vital now seemingly-forgotten craft of making simple, traditional and meaningful music of the sort that SINGS to the SOUL. It’d probably be easier for the both of us if we didn’t pretend examples were necessary to make this point, so, hey, let’s just not go there. Now, Luke Temple, moonlighting Here We Go Magic mainman, is a former plasterer, but if he knew what was good for him he would be a former lumberjack.
Based on rating 6.1/10
This is sort of complicated, so try to follow along. Before Luke Temple self-recorded his murky, self-sampledelic 2009 debut as Here We Go Magic (the only release from the project thus far that features Temple all by his lonesome), he made two solo albums that mixed chamber-pop experimentation and singer/songwriter fare: 2005's Hold a Match for a Gasoline World and 2007's Snowbeast. While he was recording Here We Go Magic, he simultaneously made another solo album with a few friends helping him out, including future Here We Go Magic member Michael Bloch and Glass Ghost's Eliot Krimsky.
Based on rating C+
Luke Temple spent 2009 as front man for Here We Go Magic by day and solo artist by night. On the heels of his band’s burgeoning debut, Temple’s own efforts were shelved so that he could spend more time with the group. It’s only now that his third outing as a solo artist, Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care, is being released. Here We Go Magic’s inspired, experimental psych-pop factors in only sparingly on Temple’s new effort.
Based on rating 4/10
The cover art of Luke Temple’s haughtily titled Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care is quite peculiar. Its rather odd, almost childlike drawings give the impression that no matter how weird or sloppy his art is, the listeners are still expected to have some interest in him. The sleeve art’s scribble-heavy aesthetic, though used to make obviously perceptible shapes, suggests a loose, carefree style of making music, one that doesn’t need intricate, complex attention to detail in order to be successful.
'Don't Act Like You Don't Care'
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