If you feel your disposition getting sweeter, that may be because The Temper Trap is back.
The Australian band, known for their late 2000s hit “Sweet Disposition,” has released a new album called Sungazer, marking their first full-length effort in 10 years.
As frontman Dougy Mandagi tells ABC Audio, The Temper Trap’s return was in part inspired by an instrumental version of “Sweet Disposition” that went viral on TikTok.
“Sometimes you gotta strike while the iron’s hot,” Mandagi tells ABC Audio. “We decided to capitalize on this genuine groundswell, I guess, that was happening, and that’s when we decided to give it another shot.”
Beyond responding to renewed interest in the band, Mandagi says he finally felt ready to make another Temper Trap record after not being in the “right headspace” during that gap.
“I’m the one that instigated this sort of little hiatus,” Mandagi says. “I needed that time, I think, to, I don’t know, rediscover myself as a creative person, I think.”
Musically, Sungazer contains some familiar elements — the opening of single “Giving Up Air” may give you “Sweet Disposition” vibes — while also bringing in more surprising sounds, such as the electronic outro on “Lifeline.”
“Having that sort of huge gap in between sort of freed us a little bit from expectations,” Mandagi says. “We were able to just explore sounds and synths and doing weird s*** with my vocals, and not having people over our shoulders going, like, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t do that.'”
Sungazer is out now, and The Temper Trap is currently touring North America with Muse. As for the future of the band, it sounds like we won’t have to wait another decade for another album.
“I’ve already starting working on new s***,” Mandagi says.
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