This kind of song­writ­ing needs a band to sup­port it. A song like this wouldn’t sound good accom­pa­nied by a lone gui­tar. It’s monot­o­nous yet twisted, the chord pro­gres­sion isn’t obvi­ous enough and the melody lacks a hook. With the right arrange­ment, how­ever, it becomes an oth­er­worldly anthem, or at least a track that’s rather awe­some to lis­ten to cranked up on the car stereo, speed­ing on the high­way. You imagine.

Dougy Mandagi is the main song­writer of the Australian band, The Temper Trap. According to Wikipedia, he started out as a busker on the streets of Melbourne in 1999. Whatever he was play­ing back then, he must have come very far since, in every sense.