American singer Troy This!'s half-quirky, half-mainstream sound will not be for everyone. With an influences section on his MySpace that mentions David Bowie, Tina Turner, ABBA, and John Waters's Hairpsray and given that he's working with Johan "Kermit" Bobäck (of Elin Lanto's "Speak 'n Spell," Jeanette's "Undress To The Beat," and Cyndi Lauper's "Into The Nightlife") and Alexander Kronlund (a former member of Cheiron Studios who in the time since its closing has co-written Robyn's "Don't Stop The Music" and "Who's That Girl?", Britney Spears's "If U Seek Amy," and Linda Sundblad's "Lose You," among others), though, I'd had my eye on his MySpace to see what his new songs would sound like."Back That Up!" is the most immediate--read: catchiest--and mainstream of them. The backing is bouncy upbeat pop-rock, but it's had electro sparkles sprinkled all over it and is topped off with Troy's playful, unusual vocals. It's really the melody that sold me on this song (well, that and the drum and delicate synth hooks): I've had it stuck in my head since the first time I played the song. There's something kind of '80s about it, but in a more subtle way than the '80s mimickry so popular now. Troy This! isn't really electro or pop-rock, not indie or mainstream, too unusual for the pure pop addicts to chase after him while not unusual enough for blogs with more cred to champion him, which means he's in this odd place in terms of Internet-land categorization. "Back That Up!"'s quick-paced chorus has had me singing along all day, though, and that's enough for me.
"Hej Ya - Did You Mean That?" or "Do You Mean That (Hejja)" (man, is this going to play havoc with my Last.fm tags), also on his MySpace, plays up that '80s side and the electro a bit more--there's even a moment or two that makes me think of Prince.
There's nowhere yet to buy Troy This!'s music, but you can visit his MySpace here.
Next up: maybe I'll finally get around to playing catch up.
