The Temper Trap
The Temper Trap
Academy
May 9, 2010
The more established the artist, the more established the audience, a point proven by the likes of Gary Numan and AC/DC who can find their way to gigs by just following their uniformed disciples.
When fame is bestowed so quickly, and by the beast of national radio, on the likes of The Temper Trap, they can’t be quite so sure how their instant following will turn out. If the lights had gone up at the Academy during the Australian five-piece’s visit they would have seen an odd mix of smooching couples and leering football fans, all clearly worse for wear.
Blissfully ignorant of the horrors that lurked behind the darkness, the band hit an early peak by playing catchy single, Fader, a perfect piece of pop that encapsulates their strengths of atmospheric, choppy guitars and members unafraid to sing the high notes.
Their following effort, Fools, demonstrated their weakness for slow to fast and quiet to loud predictability. Most of the short performance continued along those frustrating lines, with lead singer Dougie Mandagi’s falsetto, the band’s trump card, sounding strained by the rigours of touring.
Last year’s smash, Sweet Disposition, weighed in with the same musical punch as it holds on record, but the vocals landed uncomfortably wide of a target that the solid rhythm section and guitars managed to hit.
The high point of Drum Song, where Mandagi doesn’t sing at all, was full of dive-bomb guitars and tribal thumping so exciting that it almost made up for a show as easily forgettable as the lyrics they couldn’t recall during an embarrassing encore.
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