The Temper Trap’s debut was an anthemic pop anthem, filled with the sort of majestic, regal fare that used to be U2’s bread and butter. On this collection of remixes, though, the band’s songs are picked apart, their strengths dissected and diluted for the sake of danceability. The very things that made Conditions so appealing -- the rapid guitar delay, the lush production, the way Dougy Mandagi’s vocals filled every corner of an arrangement -- are largely absent here, and the things that Conditions carefully avoided -- uniform tempos on every track, club culture clichés -- are emphasized. The problem is the source material; although groups like Bloc Party have commissioned some perfectly fine remix albums, the Temper Trap aren’t really a dance band, and they don’t lend themselves well to this kind of reinterpretation. Songs like “Rest” may benefit from the new approach, but “Sweet Disposition” and other towering pop tunes are effectively downsized by the DJs, who slather everything with synthesizers and mask Mandagi’s voice in the process. Fans may be interested in hearing these new versions, but there doesn’t seem to be any additional reason for Conditions Remixed to exist, apart from the fact that it makes the original sound pretty stellar by comparison.
© Andrew Leahey /TiVo