The Temper Trap
Ruby Lounge, Manchester
27/09/2009

Between accompanying that rather lovely festival-themed advert, the clever heartbreak of ‘(500) Days Of Summer’ and, incredulously, the always cringe-worthy ‘Best Bits’ finale of Big Brother, ‘Sweet Disposition’ by Australian foursome The Temper Trap has become one of the defining tracks of 2009. And why the hell not? This welcome burst of pure musical euphoria was clearly what all of us (including every single TV exec and ad man in the country, it would seem) needed.
You suspect that the vast majority of tonight’s sold-out crowd have been drawn in solely by the extremely powerful magnetic pull of this one song. This seems especially likely given the fact that the band’s debut album ‘Conditions’ doesn’t seem to offer anything nearly as exciting or moving as their breakthrough radio-botherer. So tonight proves to be a bit of a waiting game, as we all hold out for the mass audience freak-out that inevitably comes with the big favourite. Those who cared to pay at least some attention to the rest of their set, though, will have discovered that The Temper Trap are, at the very least, an interesting prospect. Live, their songs make more of an impression than on record, with ‘Fader’ and ‘Resurrection’ jumping out as complex and accomplished tracks complete with driving, catchy melodies, and while Dougy Mandagi’s falsetto doesn’t hold up so well, it’s still impressive enough to silence the impatient front row.
Do they have another ‘Sweet Disposition’ in them? Only time – and another album’s worth of material – will tell. Let’s hope we find out before the sheer unit-shifting, emotional-swelling appeal of that song eclipses them entirely and consigns them forever to the Hot Hot Heat camp of one hit wonder-dom.

Molly Jones