The Temper Trap attracted their first batch of fans with "Sweet Disposition," a pop anthem framed by the influence of Jeff Buckley's falsetto and U2's guitar delay. A similar sound fuels the rest of Conditions, which takes additional cues from the sweeping, atmospheric strains of Coldplay and Bends-era Radiohead. The music itself is partially responsible for such comparisons, but the most obvious link between the Temper Trap and the bands they so avidly adore is singer Dougy Mandagi, an impassioned tenor who coos, croons, and courts melodrama with all the open-armed enthusiasm of a theater student. He's a fantastic singer and fairly capable songwriter -- two essential qualities for a frontman who takes cues from the giants of stadium pop/rock -- but he's also a middling lyricist, concerned with topics that are far smaller than the cathedrals and sweeping landscapes his music evokes. For all its fist-pumping beauty, "Sweet Disposition" seems to be about little more than a late-night makeout session ("Stay there, 'cause I'm coming over"), and "Rest" features few words other than "Oooh, baby," which lose their luster after several repetitions. Conditions runs out of juice during its second half, where the anthems of side A give way to minor-key ballads and rock songs that only pack a medium-sized punch. Album highlights like "Sweet Disposition," "Love Lost," and "Fader" are tell-tale signs of a band worthy of scaling the Joshua Tree, though, even if the Temper Trap have some growing up to do beforehand.© Andrew Leahey /TiVo

With the breakout success of their 2009 debut album, Conditions, Australia's the Temper Trap immediately found themselves somewhat rigidly classified. Whether attributing the Temper Trap's guitar-driven, anthemic vibe to the "post-U2" phenomenon of Coldplay, or using their harmonic arrangements and clickity-clack percussion to lump them in with Fleet Foxes and Local Natives, listeners seemed to think they had this band pegged. But those judgments sold the Temper Trap short, and that's even truer for their eponymous sophomore album. Sure, the Temper Trap have built many of their songs around guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto's delayed electric guitar lines -- which certainly took inspiration from the Edge's signature sound. However, that said, what the Temper Trap always have that sets them apart from their contemporaries is vocalist Dougy Mandagi's soaring, angelic vocal croon. A one-of-a-kind singer, Mandagi sometimes brings to a mind the high-pitched soulfulness of Erasure's Andy Bell, albeit with a stronger, more muscular and punk-oriented aesthetic. It is just this sound that drives this latest effort. A sophisticated, epic, slow burn of an album, The Temper Trap finds the band taking the creative long view, and updating its bombastic guitar rock with a moody, somewhat synth-oriented sound. These are nuanced, atmospheric cuts that sometimes, as with the epic and passionate "Miracle," don't kick into the pop/rock hook until around the three-minute mark. That might make it sound as though there's something less catchy about these tracks, but make no mistake, each song makes that wait well worth it, with a meticulous arrangement that pays off at exactly the right moment. If you take the time to listen all the way through, the results are even more infectious and rapturous than anything on Conditions -- sometimes even more so after repeated listens. While The Temper Trap certainly retains a portion of that post-U2 delay-pedal vibe with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air, Goldfrapp), the songs here are more often filled out with densely sonic keyboards and rippling synth lines. The results, as on the pointedly topical dance-punk cut "London's Burning" (which juxtaposes melodies with news-clip soundbites taken during the 2011 London riots), are layered and mature. Elsewhere, such tunes as the bright, electronic dance-inflected "Where Do We Go from Here," the dark and sexy number "Never Again," the cinematic ballad "I'm Gonna Wait," and the yearning "Dreams" are euphoric pop anthems that bury themselves as deeply in your soul as they do in your ears.© Matt Collar /TiVo

Australia's Temper Trap deliver a sophisticated, uplifting set of songs on their third full-length album, 2016's Thick as Thieves. Produced by Damian Taylor (Björk, the Killers, Braids), Thick as Thieves is the first album of new material from Temper Trap since parting ways with lead guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto in 2013. With Sillitto's departure, keyboardist Joseph Greer began doing double duty on keys and guitars and, surprisingly, as evidenced here, very little has changed in the group's sound. In fact, Thick as Thieves finds the band digging even deeper into a robust and anthemic guitar-based style that still owes a heavy debt to U2. It's an apt, if somewhat overstated, comparison that will most likely furrow the brow of longtime Temper Trap fans, if not the bandmembers themselves. Thankfully, it's not the main takeaway upon listening to Thick as Thieves. Primarily, one is reminded of how powerful and emotive a vocal presence lead singer/guitarist Dougy Mandagi remains. Cuts like the driving "Burn" and the minor-keyed groover "Alive" find Mandagi riding the crest of a thick wave of electric guitars, pulsing synths, and drums. It's a scintillating combination that brings to mind something along the lines of Cee Lo Green fronting the Killers. It's also nice to hear Temper Trap continue to expand their sonic palette, deftly weaving in bits of electronic programming and bass-heavy mixes, and taking a generally more measured approach to balladry, as they do on the soaring "Fall Together" and the punky, monochromatic album closer "Ordinary World." Elsewhere, the band offers up a handful of kinetic, driving numbers like the '80s power pop-influenced "Riverina" and the sweepingly romantic "Lost," recalling the infectious joy of "Sweet Disposition." Ultimately, Thick as Thieves plays like a heartfelt love letter to Temper Trap's fans who have stuck with them since Conditions. As Mandagi sings on "Lost," "Nothing in the world can tear us apart."© Matt Collar /TiVo

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Australia's Temper Trap deliver a sophisticated, uplifting set of songs on their third full-length album, 2016's Thick as Thieves. Produced by Damian Taylor (Björk, the Killers, Braids), Thick as Thieves is the first album of new material from Temper Trap since parting ways with lead guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto in 2013. With Sillitto's departure, keyboardist Joseph Greer began doing double duty on keys and guitars and, surprisingly, as evidenced here, very little has changed in the group's sound. In fact, Thick as Thieves finds the band digging even deeper into a robust and anthemic guitar-based style that still owes a heavy debt to U2. It's an apt, if somewhat overstated, comparison that will most likely furrow the brow of longtime Temper Trap fans, if not the bandmembers themselves. Thankfully, it's not the main takeaway upon listening to Thick as Thieves. Primarily, one is reminded of how powerful and emotive a vocal presence lead singer/guitarist Dougy Mandagi remains. Cuts like the driving "Burn" and the minor-keyed groover "Alive" find Mandagi riding the crest of a thick wave of electric guitars, pulsing synths, and drums. It's a scintillating combination that brings to mind something along the lines of Cee Lo Green fronting the Killers. It's also nice to hear Temper Trap continue to expand their sonic palette, deftly weaving in bits of electronic programming and bass-heavy mixes, and taking a generally more measured approach to balladry, as they do on the soaring "Fall Together" and the punky, monochromatic album closer "Ordinary World." Elsewhere, the band offers up a handful of kinetic, driving numbers like the '80s power pop-influenced "Riverina" and the sweepingly romantic "Lost," recalling the infectious joy of "Sweet Disposition." Ultimately, Thick as Thieves plays like a heartfelt love letter to Temper Trap's fans who have stuck with them since Conditions. As Mandagi sings on "Lost," "Nothing in the world can tear us apart."© Matt Collar /TiVo

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The Temper Trap’s debut was an anthemic pop anthem, filled with the sort of majestic, regal fare that used to be U2’s bread and butter. On this collection of remixes, though, the band’s songs are picked apart, their strengths dissected and diluted for the sake of danceability. The very things that made Conditions so appealing -- the rapid guitar delay, the lush production, the way Dougy Mandagi’s vocals filled every corner of an arrangement -- are largely absent here, and the things that Conditions carefully avoided -- uniform tempos on every track, club culture clichés -- are emphasized. The problem is the source material; although groups like Bloc Party have commissioned some perfectly fine remix albums, the Temper Trap aren’t really a dance band, and they don’t lend themselves well to this kind of reinterpretation. Songs like “Rest” may benefit from the new approach, but “Sweet Disposition” and other towering pop tunes are effectively downsized by the DJs, who slather everything with synthesizers and mask Mandagi’s voice in the process. Fans may be interested in hearing these new versions, but there doesn’t seem to be any additional reason for Conditions Remixed to exist, apart from the fact that it makes the original sound pretty stellar by comparison.© Andrew Leahey /TiVo

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Australia's Temper Trap deliver a sophisticated, uplifting set of songs on their third full-length album, 2016's Thick as Thieves. Produced by Damian Taylor (Björk, the Killers, Braids), Thick as Thieves is the first album of new material from Temper Trap since parting ways with lead guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto in 2013. With Sillitto's departure, keyboardist Joseph Greer began doing double duty on keys and guitars and, surprisingly, as evidenced here, very little has changed in the group's sound. In fact, Thick as Thieves finds the band digging even deeper into a robust and anthemic guitar-based style that still owes a heavy debt to U2. It's an apt, if somewhat overstated, comparison that will most likely furrow the brow of longtime Temper Trap fans, if not the bandmembers themselves. Thankfully, it's not the main takeaway upon listening to Thick as Thieves. Primarily, one is reminded of how powerful and emotive a vocal presence lead singer/guitarist Dougy Mandagi remains. Cuts like the driving "Burn" and the minor-keyed groover "Alive" find Mandagi riding the crest of a thick wave of electric guitars, pulsing synths, and drums. It's a scintillating combination that brings to mind something along the lines of Cee Lo Green fronting the Killers. It's also nice to hear Temper Trap continue to expand their sonic palette, deftly weaving in bits of electronic programming and bass-heavy mixes, and taking a generally more measured approach to balladry, as they do on the soaring "Fall Together" and the punky, monochromatic album closer "Ordinary World." Elsewhere, the band offers up a handful of kinetic, driving numbers like the '80s power pop-influenced "Riverina" and the sweepingly romantic "Lost," recalling the infectious joy of "Sweet Disposition." Ultimately, Thick as Thieves plays like a heartfelt love letter to Temper Trap's fans who have stuck with them since Conditions. As Mandagi sings on "Lost," "Nothing in the world can tear us apart."© Matt Collar /TiVo