The Temper Trap - Conditions

There has been a trickle of Australian bands coming through to Britain over recentyears such as: The Vines, Youth Group and Wolfmother. No doubt there are morewhich have fallen below my radar or I have forgotten about, but one band whichgrabbed my attention was The Temper Trap. I bought this album in December 2009 after hearing, `Sweet Disposition' on MTV2. At the same time I bought the White lies debut album and I have to say I listened to TTT once, thought it was ok but it didnt really leap out at me. White lies on the other hand, I listened to, non-stop for the next 2 months. Then I went back to TTT, to see if I had missed anything. Listen by listen,this album grew and grew on me and continues to grow, to this day.

The Temper Trap have these deep grooves to give their songs a dance feel but atthe same time have this chilled out vibe that you can totally get lost in. It is just a totally refreshing sound and I can see why they are one of the most talked about acts right now. Furthermore, `Conditions' is a solid debut album with the only weak track being track 7 `Fools'. Well I call it weak but I think the real reason it is weak is what came before it. If `Fools' was anywhere else it would probably sound a lot better. The problem is `Fader' the sixth track is absolutely awesome and although the benchmark is set pretty high for the rest of the album, this track cranks it up another notch. Maybe another reason for the weak sounding seventh track is that there is such a difference in tempo between the two tracks; Fader being really upbeat and Fools being more downbeat. I think Fader would be better as a closing track or it would benefit from being followed up by a more upbeat song than Fools, so you are not having such a big drop in tempo.

The rest of the album works though in terms of tempo changing from song to song.`Down River' is one of my favourite tracks as it just feels like Dougie Mandagi's vocals are less pure than the other songs, making it more fun, as it feels like he is just letting himself go. Particular highlight is when he starts singing, `Don't stop, go, go'. As a runner this is a great motivational track to have in your head as I cruise along the streets.

This is followed up by what I like to call a "build up track". `Solider on' starts off slow and gradually increases in pace but has points where the pace is maintained before building to the next level and at the end of the song climax in a great instrumental burst.

I know I said earlier about Mandagi's vocals mainly being quite pure for most of the album and really with only really letting go on `Down River'. This was not meant to sound like a criticism as the style of vocal suited `Down River', and the pure vocals suit the rest of the tracks. What I mean by pure is that the vocals are crisp and uses his extensive vocal range across the album. Most of the vocals are delivered in such a high pitch for a guy that most people guys singing along to this would lose their voice just attempting to sing just one track at this pitch. However it just seems natural to Dougie.

I also mentioned that `Fader' would make a better closing track but more becausenothing would have to follow it rather than its suitability as a closing track. The actual closing tracks on the other hand. `Science of Fear' and `Drum Song', fit the bill perfectly. Most bands put their worst tracks towards the end of an album but such is the strength of this album, TTT can carry the standard right through to the end. `Science of Fear' is another party song, sing-along, oozing quality. Much like `Drum Song' without the sing-along bit! As this is the instrumental track on the album and closer. I always see it as sign of a good band if they can make a good track without vocals carrying it, as it shows the band's talent and that they can make a good tune. As naturally I think people focus on the lyrics as most songs are dominated by singing especially shorter tracks and then only focus on the other instruments when there is a break in the singing. So by having a fully instrumental track you are concentrating completely on the instruments, so it has to be good!

Overall if you want some music to dance about to in a chilled out way; `Conditions' is the album for you. It is a refreshing, upbeat and complete piece of work. The unique sound will set them apart from anything that is out there at the moment and their infamous live set is one I am eager to have had the pleasure of listening to. If you are(Temper) trapped for a long time, you might as well have The Temper Trap on the ipod as it will take you a long time to get bored of it.