The Temper Trap

With their choirboy vocals and panoramic pop/rock sound, the Temper Trap began building an audience in Melbourne, Australia, where the band first rose to local acclaim after playing St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival in March 2006. The Temper Trap released their debut EP that same year, and word of the group’s potential soon spread to other continents. Veteran British producer Jim Abbiss (who previously worked on the Arctic Monkeys’ debut) saw enough promise in the Temper Trap’s material to fly to Australia, where he gathered the musicians into Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios and helped ready their debut album, Conditions, for a 2009 release. “Sweet Disposition,” a U2-styled anthem, was released that September as the band’s first single. It cracked the Top 40 in multiple countries and appeared in the Zooey Deschanel film (500) Days of Summer, which helped the band increase its following in America. The Temper Trap responded by touring heavily, making stops at festivals like Glastonbury and Bonnaroo along the way. They also reached out to a number of DJs, producers, and bands, asking them to remix material from the group’s debut. The result, Conditions Remixed, was released during the band’s fall tour in 2010. Two years later, the band delivered its sophomore effort, the eponymously titled The Temper Trap. Produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air, Goldfrapp), the album featured the singles “Need Your Love” and “Trembling Hands.” Certified platinum, the album peaked at number one in Australia and earned the band two 2012 Aria Awards, including Best Rock Album. In 2013, during the early stages of production on the group’s follow-up album, guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto parted ways with the band. The departure left keyboardist/guitarist Joseph Greer to assume all primary guitar duties. The Temper Trap returned in 2016 with their third full-length album, Thick as Thieves, featuring production from Damian Taylor (Björk, Arcade Fire, the Killers). ~ Andrew Leahey