"I'm a connoisseur of acquired taste / And the first one through the door / When the marquee updates / With my copy of the score / I've got it memorized / I sometimes feed them lines..."
The ebullient power pop pull of "The Best Seat In The House" by, Portland's alt pop maven Mo Troper, stirs up my imagination in nostalgic ways. The production, structure, vibe overall screams 80's bent dreams pop / indie rock and I thought of Squeeze (circa Argybargy) within the absolutely artfully weepy guitar lines, sort of Brit pop driving bass lines and possible double drum beats and entendre. As I am writing I am flashing on Nick Lowe too but also (maybe oddly or maybe not) I feel hints of Elliot Smith. As with a lot of iconic 80's power pop there is, among the sparkles and progressive musicality, vocal countenance and smart poetic wordplay, oftentimes, a melancholy or broken romantic underbelly and I feel that exact emotional tone within Mo Troper's aesthetic, vocal sound, sophisticated cheeky word play as well in a big, big way.
As much as I swim in the music world and primarily indie music world for over 16 years, I am coming to the Mo Troper party fashionably late. I don't know why but it is likely that I sometimes exist in my own sonic cubby hole independent of what other writers, so called tastemakers, are bringing to the world. Maybe a failing of mine. In any event, I am enjoying my continuing introduction and conversation (in my head) with Mo Troper.
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[Right on the heels of Mo Troper’s previous single “When She Says My Name” comes “The Best Seat In The House”—a barn burner that sounds like Big Star had they grown up in the Pacific Northwest instead of Memphis. Another collaboration between Troper and songwriter Auguste Patino, “The Best Seat…”is filled to the gunwales with hooks, tackle, and turns of phrase that could bring a scarlet mantle to Cole Porter’s cheeks.
This song is another preview of an upcoming LP from Troper. “The Best Seat...” was recorded during an especially fecund session with members of Father John Misty’s band (the song was produced by FJM keyboardist Jon Titterington) at New Monkey Studios in Los Angeles and features Brenden Ramirez of Bory on guitar and backup vocals. It was lovingly mixed and mastered by punk legend Jack Shirley.
This batch of singles represents a defiant pivot to hifi for Troper. “The Best Seat…” rounds out a new Double A-Side 7” backed with “When She Says My Name” which is available now on Bandcamp. Troper released this single on Good Cheer Records.]
This song is another preview of an upcoming LP from Troper. “The Best Seat...” was recorded during an especially fecund session with members of Father John Misty’s band (the song was produced by FJM keyboardist Jon Titterington) at New Monkey Studios in Los Angeles and features Brenden Ramirez of Bory on guitar and backup vocals. It was lovingly mixed and mastered by punk legend Jack Shirley.
This batch of singles represents a defiant pivot to hifi for Troper. “The Best Seat…” rounds out a new Double A-Side 7” backed with “When She Says My Name” which is available now on Bandcamp. Troper released this single on Good Cheer Records.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://motroper.bandcamp.com/album/the-best-seat-in-the-house
https://www.instagram.com/motroper
"...A converging, titanic exhibition of rock "n' roll ... somewhere between the worlds of Chopin and pre-school lullabies." - Paste Magazine
"...Like Pinkerton-era Weezer as interpreted by the Chipmunks." - Pitchfork
"...One of the best power-pop artists in the underground." - Stereogum
"...A shrewd balance between noisy discord and hook-driven power-pop." - Uproxx
Mo Troper, Portland Oregon, singer songwriter, power pop musician, indie rock, 70's music, 60's music, chamber pop, abstract, retro pop iterations, "The Best Seat In The House", New Monkey Studios,
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