The largely blue-collar London borough of Hackney resembled a warzone after a battle. It was 2011, and mounting protests against a coalition government – facing large deficits, and cutting many social services – had turned violent. Australian pop band The Temper Trap has a rehearsal studio in Hackney, a short distance from singer Dougy Mandagi’s flat. “One of the flashpoints was literally 20 meters from where Dougy’s house is,” drummer Toby Dundas recalled in a recent phone chat from Manchester, England, after the band finished a sound check from a show scheduled for that evening. “That day we were at [...]