The Temper Trap - Conditions Remixed

The Temper Trap are busy fellows. Having created a monster in Conditions, the likeable Melbourne band has spent the last 18 months touring the world. Dashing from continent to continent, it is little wonder they haven’t had time to put a record out since their debut first landed in June 2009.

Instead, we are being offered the same ten songs reworked. While the cynical might suggest a cash-in on the back of the recent Aria Awards, there can be no denying that these remixes from the likes of Fools Gold and Alan Wilkis are the result of a lot of hard work and love. This isn’t something that has been lazily thrown together. Often there is a high energy, house/techno vibe, such as Penguin Prison’s remix of Resurrection, which takes the original directly to the dancefloor. Some mixes - Peter, Bjorn and John’s Fools, for instance - don’t stray too far from their roots, while others, like PVT’s industrial reworking of Fader, might be a bit too abstract for some. The real highlight, and most interestingly altered track, is saved for the end. Drum Song is reinvented by BretonLabs who drags the original kicking and screaming into the grimy streets of South London, courtesy of the rapping talents of Kate Tempest. It’s fantastic.

Conditions Remixed is certainly a worthwhile project in that it breathes life into these played-to-death songs, but its release is frustrating because it signals the fact that a new record is probably still a long way off. And, as enjoyable as this album is, what we’re really hanging out for are some new songs.