The Temper Trap

If festival bills are anything to go by, The Temper Trap are Australia’s newest hype band. With barely an EP released, they were among the first to be called upon some pretty significant upcoming events, including Laneway and the inaugural V Festival. Normally this may sound out of the ordinary, but having heard them live, I can perfectly sympathise with the decision. It was a dark and stormy night (perhaps not stormy) and I was down in Wollongong to catch Dappled Cities Fly. The Temper Trap hit the stage and at the time, they were completely unknown to me. As they played I knew there was something special about them, but it wasn’t until the following days that it really sunk in. That voice; it was incredible. My cravings increased and I found myself drawn to their myspace in a bid to re-live the experience. But what I found were four decent recordings that didn’t quite live up to what I remembered. Despite this, I still found enjoyment in them, as they reminded me of that inspiring performance I’d witnessed a few months back - the lead singer moving about on stage, mouth wide open and screaming into the microphone – it’s an image that will probably stick with me until the next time I see them. If you happen to be attending either of the festivals above, I highly recommend you check out The Temper Trap; every last bit of their hype is warranted.

Sirens – Their formula for making music is anything but complex. It usually consists of a simple melody, maybe two lines of lyrics and of course a wailing chorus, but it’s a formula that sounds so good, depth becomes irrelevant.

Sunday Painter – This song always seems to give me mixed signals. I have this nagging feeling that structure is somehow flawed and yet I can’t help but think back to how good it sounded live.