Album Review: Mo Troper – Gold

Portland lo-fi powerpop artist Mo Troper released his latest album, Gold, yesterday, the 10th February 2017, via Good Cheer Records, Gold is a compilation of the very best of Mo Troper‘s songs written between 2010 and 2015 from his pre-solo and side efforts, including Your Rival, TeenSpot, and Sancho. Essentially this is the best of Mo Troper Volume One, this is an album that would seem to be a full stop at the end of this chapter in his career, prior to his solo career starting in earnest with a self penned double album reported to be in the works.

Gold opens with Something To Talk About, it has a distinctly lo-fi charm that carries a yearning vocal delivery, what becomes immediately apparent is that this album is one that carries a diverse range of styles and delivery, the following number, Spraycan, carries a more upbeat feel and is more accessible, this scattergun approach is carried across the whole of Gold, including my personal highlight, the frantic fuzzy Hadley. There is an indie sensibility that embraces everything from The Beach Boys to Dinosaur Jnr, and a lot more inbetween, in it’s DNA. The production and feel of all the recordings is very much a lo-fi DIY affair, this might initially be offputting, but repeated listening gradually warms you to Mo Troper‘s undoubted talent for turning a good hook and producing songs that contain a melodic indie sensibility.

Gold is a package of Mo Troper‘s past recordings ahead of the release of his forthcoming solo album, Gold wraps up his former bands material and essentially acts as a chronicle of the first chapter in his recording career. There is an obvious appeal to fans of such acts as Teenage Fanclub, Weezer, Redd Kross and Grandaddy, although he’s not derivative of these bands, but you can hear a clear influence on the recordings contained on Gold. As with any anthology of an artists earliest material not everything will appeal, there are both hits and misses on this compilation, but there are enough hits present to pique your interest in Mo Troper‘s forthcoming solo album.

Mo Troper‘s Gold can be ordered here