26 November 2012

Trembling hands

"Now here I am
I'm a drop in your ocean
Noise in the crowd
Pushing through your halls of reason
So throw me a line
Somebody out there help me
I'm on my own
I'm on my own
Throw me a line
Afraid that I have come here
To win you again
With trembling hands"
– The Temper Trap, Trembling Hands, 2012

The video clip is a disaster in my opinion but I love the music. So do me a favour: just listen to the lyrics and enjoy the music without watching the video. It’s much more powerful than what the emotionless face of the singer may imply.

The Temper Trap is an Australian music band (the singer is Indonesian-born in case you were wondering) which received humble success in a few countries. Three things appeal to me in the two albums they released so far:

(i) the melodies which remind me of other music bands, Hurts and Radiohead's earlier albums in particular, and which somehow sound atemporal, that is to say I feel as if they could have been heard forty years ago and maybe will not sound dated in another forty years (but maybe that's the bias of not knowing today what will make the cut to posterity);

(ii) the singer’s voice which has an excellent ability to evolve between high and deep notes from one song to another;

(iii) the melancholy that darkly shines through their songs – okay, sometimes it's downright sadness with titles such as This is not happiness, Leaving heartbreak hotel and Love lost. Oh well.

[Hat tip to Hélène Marlaud for making me discover this indie rock band.]