Temper Trap, The - Sweet Disposition (EP)
» Snowman - Annandale Hotel, The, NSW - January 13, 2007
» Snowman & the Temper Trap - Northcote Social Club, Vic - January 12, 2007
The Temper Trap’s new track Sweet Disposition isn’t hook heavy with synthesizers. It doesn’t have anyone singing intentionally out of key or in an accent that doesn’t belong to them. The arrangements aren’t loose and their instruments, amazingly, are well played and sound in tune. What is this Melbourne act thinking trying to produce music that is, well, well produced, in this day and age? And further to that, having checked out their myspace page, it would seem while their haircuts are a little loose, their attire isn’t near ridiculous enough to get them any real attention if they were to go a-walking down Brunswick St. Well a band not willing to resort to these cheap modern tricks better have good music behind them if they expect to survive.
Thankfully Sweet Disposition is a rolling melodic journey of Edge-inspired guitars, brooding progressive drums, soaring vocals, and a solid bass line keeping the whole thing together. Like I said, there is no major instrumental hook, but I suspect that’s the whole point. And it is a point well made.
The Curtis Vodka remix of Sweet Disposition could be an album outro for the actual track, did it not roll on for a whopping eight minutes. Making use of tribal chants and similarly traditional beats, the track is equally brooding, yet somehow not quite as exciting as the original. Nice try though, Curt.
Science of Fear is a simpler track to begin with. It unfolds into a driving guitar-heavy number, with an underlying sense of urgency. The middle section provides a curious audio sample that I think is Robert Kennedy announcing the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, before bursting into a towering lead section. It’s definitely the highlight of the track.
Finally, we have the Pocketknife remix of Science of Fear. The remix is, at least to me, far more intriguing than the Curtis Vodka remix of Sweet Disposition. More reliant on the main vocal as a looped sample, it lifts and swoops in a perfect progression, allowing for the vocals to remain the centerpiece of the arrangement.
The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition EP provides a fleeting view of what this four-piece has to offer. But the point is made within that time. No cheap tricks. No shortcuts. Nothing but quality music delivered with a sincerity that is to be admired.
