Conditions is the spectacular debut album from four-piece Melbourne indie rock band The Temper Trap (TTT). From the evocative opening track, Love Lost, the deep thumping drums that permeate throughout the album combine with the incredible falsetto vocals of ‘Dougy’ Mandagi to instantly entrap the listener, not letting them go in the following 42 minutes. 

Musically, Conditions is infectious, at times softly sweeping over the listener; at others confronting you with heavy bass, strong guitar, and pounding drums, which hold the listener throughout. The album’s lyrics have an understated simplicity to them, yet at the same time are incredibly emotive and evocative, stirring up powerful visual imagery in the listener’s minds. The listener can be easily caught up in the choruses and find themselves singing along.

Conditions has already spawned three singles: Sweet Disposition, Fader, and Science of Fear and yet still has several other tracks, such as Resurrection or Soldier On, that are both catchy enough and likely to demand enough radio airplay to be released as singles. Over all Conditions is unfortunately a short album, however, it fits together stylistically as a cohesive whole, allowing it to become one of those rare albums that one can listen to from start to finish over and over again.

If you haven’t heard anything from this album, head over to TTT’s website and check them out.

By Scott Faulkner