Full disclosure right from the jump: Mo Troper frequently contributes to the Mercury. But I don’t know the guy—we’ve never communicated. So with a clear conscience and no conflict of interest, I can tell you that his new album, Exposure and Response, is an exquisite example of classic, well-crafted power pop. It’s the best work of Troper’s career, and one of the very best albums to come out of Portland (or anywhere else) in 2017.
His last proper full-length, 2016’s Beloved, is also very good. It’s packed end-to-end with melodies so strong and memorable, they consistently rise above the rest of the record’s fuzzed-out bash ’n’ pop din. It sounds like a super-skilled songwriter sailing through a mid-fi sea of crash cymbals.