Mo Troper is a Portland-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose music takes listeners on an emotional trip, with the beauty of his classic-style pop melodies facing up against lyrics that ask pointed, sardonic questions about the world around him. Based in Portland, Oregon,
Troper was born in 1992; his great-grandmother was Pearl Argyle, a celebrated actress and ballet dancer in the '20s and '30s, while his grandfather Steven Bernhardt worked as a producer and assistant director in film and television during the '60s and '70s.
Troper's father was an obsessive
Beatles fan, and
Mo grew up absorbing the influences of
the Fab Four and other '60s pop acts. At an early age,
Troper had developed a passionate interest in music, and in his teens he began making his way into the Portland D.I.Y. music scene. While in high school,
Troper and drummer Nate Sonefeld formed the band
Your Rival, who specialized in "fun songs about horrible things." In 2013, they released an album, Here's to Me, through the local punk label Party Damage Records. The band soon broke up, and
Troper worked with the groups TeenSpot and Sancho before he decided it was time to strike out on his own. In 2015,
Troper spent some time housesitting for his grandmother, and he used the time to work on his songwriting.
Troper took the songs he'd written and booked time at a Portland recording studio called the Magic Closet. The result was
Troper's first solo album, 2016's Beloved, which featured a statue of Pearl Argyle on the front cover; it was released by Good Cheer Records, a label founded by
Troper. The album received rave reviews in the Pacific Northwest music press, and in February 2017 he dropped Mo Troper Gold, a collection of orphaned songs he'd written between 2010 and 2015. November 2017 saw the release of
Exposure & Response,
Troper's most ambitious work to date, which dressed up his '60s-inspired melodies with horns and strings along with drums and guitars. ~ Mark Deming