No love lost since their debut over a decade ago! The Temper Trap, one of the best indie bands in the world, swung by Singapore recently, and we couldn’t resist the chance to catch up
Despite being from one of the biggest bands in the world, The Temper Trap’s Dougy Mandagi and Joseph Greer are chilling out with us for an intimate catch-up session in Holland Village – modesty is clearly one of the band’s strong suits. The Australian indie-rock veterans – best known for monolithic, stadium-filling lead singles like “Sweet Disposition” and “Trembling Hands” – have swung by town to promote their third studio album, Thick As Thieves, with a serene acoustic preview and an honest heart-to-heart amongst friends of the media. And since this isn’t their first rodeo in Singapore – they made their debut at the Laneway Festival in 2011 – we ask what they’ve missed most about our isle nation, how they’ve grown tighter as a band despite member departures, and if they do regard themselves as one of the industry’s greatest.
Welcome back to Singapore, fellas! What have you missed most?
Dougy: The food’s good – all of it. But you know what, I’ve been a vegetarian now for seven months, but before that, I’ll say that chicken rice was my favourite.
Joseph: Chilli crab for me!
D: I can’t eat that ’cos I’m allergic, but I’m sure it’s great.
It’s been four years since your last album. Why the long wait?
J: We were writing the whole time, even on tour. But this one took a long time ’cos we just wanted to get it right. Not to mention scheduling issues; we had to wait ’cos of commitments from record labels and how much time they needed. It’s taken longer than we would’ve liked, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if it’s good enough, and I think that it is.
Any personal favourites from the new album, Thick As Thieves?
J: Mine is “Tombstone”, just because it makes me feel good listening to it. To be honest, Johnny (Aherne, bassist) wrote it and I think it has a personal meaning to him. They’re pretty special lyrics; whatever’s being sung is meaningful and straight from the heart.
D: I like a song called “Ordinary World”. It’s like a post-apocalyptic-doomsday-I’m-the-last-person-on-Earth kind of song. I think it paints a bleak picture which I’m morbidly fascinated with. And it doesn’t fit into a pop formula, which I also like. It’s not trying to be a single; it’s just self-expression.
Are you worried about how critics will receive the new record? Do you read your own reviews?
D: You know, I shouldn’t get nervous… but I do. I also don’t read reviews of ourselves because my heart is fragile. I can’t take the pain [laughs].
Is there always pressure to top “Sweet Disposition”? It’s undoubtedly your biggest song.
D: I don’t think we put that kind of pressure on ourselves, but other people do. That’s part and parcel of having a successful song. It’s then on us to navigate and live up to those expectations – it’s not easy. Obviously, we can’t be mad with “Sweet Disposition”. I mean, you’re here because of that song. It’s a double-edged sword. Damn you “Sweet Disposition”.
How do you feel y’all have evolved as a band through the years?
J: I think all the experiences that we’ve had throughout our years of touring and living in different countries [the band currently resides in London], it’s helped us grow as people and musicians. So subconsciously, all those experiences will affect the way that we are. It’s allowed us to be at a point in our career where we’re really close and better musicians. Even when we’re writing together, there’s this unspoken thing of simply understanding each other.
But what about the departure of lead guitarist, Lorenzo Sillitto? Did that affect the band badly?
D: If anything, I think it helped us approach songwriting in a different way. In the past, we had a bad habit of just coming up with parts for the sake of having parts that might not have been necessary. So when Lorenzo left and there were four of us, it made for a much leaner record which was a good thing – we cut out the fat, while trying to be impactful and retain that expansive big Temper Trap sound without cluttering it with crap.
Dougy, you were featured on Steve Angello’s EDM anthem, “Wasted Love”. How did the band react when the world began to regard you as an EDM vocalist?
J: I was so annoyed.
D: You’re just jealous.
J: Nah, every time something like that happens, I only see it is a positive thing ’cos if Dougy gets recognised, it’s only gonna draw people to the band.
D: And at the end of the day, I’m never a solo artist; I’m part of The Temper Trap.
Today, you’re one of the biggest bands in the world. How does it feel to have achieved that iconic status?
D: It feels good! It’s flattering that many people like us and we’ve been able to affect so many people through our music. There’re definitely moments in our lives where we have to pinch ourselves to believe that it’s all real. We take everything in our stride; we’re level-headed guys. We’ll never let each other get too big for our shoes. I feel like there’s much more to do.
Such humility for a band that some people consider as Australia’s U2!
D: That’s good, man. I wish I had their bank account too.
You can now stream The Temper Trap’s new album, Thick As Thieves, on Spotify.