Music clips to download:Edie (Will You Marry Me?)I Could Do Better Things |
Slogans And Jingles CDBig Deal (US) |
Steven Deal - vocals, guitars, percussion
Robert Dietrich - vocals, guitars, percussion
Dean McNulty - bass
Nick Appleby - keyboards, percussion
Larry Walter - drums
Produced by Steven Deal and Robert Dietrich; engineered by Adam Lasus at Studio Red, Philadelphia, PA
"Things Have Changed" recorded at Sutphin Studios; produced by Chopper, engineered by Ron Sutphin
Propelled by the unique vocals and prolific songwriting of former Bleached Black leader Steve Deal, Connecticut natives Chopper play pure pop music in the grand tradition of Badfinger, the Left Banke, and the Flamin' Groovies. '77 era punk rears its head occasionally, evoking strains of the Buzzcocks, the Clash, and the Ramones.
Deal and Chopper first received worldwide acclaim in 1990 with their brash and inspired debut EP entitled 4play. Rockpool went on record hailing them as "Wonderful, spirited, energetic, and melodic," whilst The Bob enthused, "Here's power pop the way God intended."
Robert Dietrich joined the group shortly thereafter. An accomplished songsmith in his own right, he first appears on a CD released on the Australian label Zero Hour. His boyish pop nuggets act as a foil for Deal's twisted, melodic rants. They released a single on the Minneapolis-based Susstones label and contributed the lead off track to Zero Hour's tribute to the Plimsouls.
Chopper have been working compulsively for over a year on Slogans and Jingles. In tangent with engineer Adam Lasus (Madder Rose, Juliana Hatfield), they have crafted a neo-pop masterpiece. The meticulous production compliments their semi-obsessive love songs. The album's sheer attention to detail is overwhelming and perhaps a little frightening. The whole package leaves one with the uneasy feeling that maybe this is why we have anti-stalking laws. If Lennon and McCartney went to school with Leopold and Loeb, this is the band they would have formed.
With a pop heart and a punk spleen, Chopper bring you Slogans and Jingles--you can't help but love it!
Fans of classic Beatlesque pop will totally flip over the jangly bitter-sweet happy/sad concoctions being cooked up on Chopper's second full-length disc. While their earlier material was more rockin', what they gave up in immediate impact is made up for in spades with a more varied approach to the production and arrangements, although songs like "Rich Kid," "Tripping On You" and "She Exploded" still have the punch and drive of their earlier material. Actually, as much as I love the upbeat stuff, this is one of those rare instances where the softer ballads have more of a lasting impact. "Why Does It Rain?" is just basically acoustic guitars and vocals with some extra keyboard effects creating a rather stark and eerie atmosphere. Not exactly party music but it definitely gets its feeling across. "I Could Do Better Things" is probably my favorite song on the disc. Done in a slow 3/4 waltz time with some really pretty harpsichord playing on the chorus, it sounds like something The Left Banke might've come up with. If you're looking for something to play on those cold winter afternoons while thinking about that unattainable guy/girl of your dreams, this'll fit the bill quite nicely.
THE PLATTERPUSS, FOSTER CHILD, 1994.
CT's Chopper advance on this, their first full-length LP. Their previous releases had displayed a penchant for Skids/Professionals/Rich Kids big-guitar punk/pop; now they've barrelled full-on into classic 60's-ish sugar-pop territory, somewhere between XTC's more recent work (see "Is It Love Inside"), Let's Active and Grant Hart. The warmth in the production is a particular improvement (and plus) as they plug away from faster knockers "Emma Snowball" and "Rich Kid" (closest to their older days) to the drug-flashback acoustic "Why Does It Rain?," which summons up memories of the Pretty Things or Buffalo Springfield. Throughout, the keyboard touches (different sounds each time) and even curious (truly 60's) use of backwards tape rhythm make this more of a pop fetish prize. "Swirling Girl" even plants them in Velvet Crush/Springfields/early Primal Scream/Bodines or Byrds territory, all ringing, chirpy guitars and boyish vocals from leaders STEVE DEAL and ROBERT DIETRICH, with what sounds like a vintage, ruminating Leslie lurking beneath the sunshine. The array of moods and melodies is what distinguishes this highly evolved album, bringing Chopper solidly out of the ranks of appealing but amateurish indie rock noises, into one of the more promising, ambitious pop groups around (much less 100 miles of here!).
JACK RABID, BIG TAKEOVER #34, 1994.
Call me a sexist, call me retro, call me a cab and ship me off to the community P.C. Orwellspeak school -- but I often long for the days when I could call a female a "cute chick" without being nailed to a cross. As luck would have it, there are enough musicians left in the world, and even some young ones like the two dudes in Chopper, who'll gladly die for my sins in the quest for the perfect pop song. The kind of specialized "Pop" wherein the relations between the sexes are idealized toward the romantic end of the spectrum, wherein a sincere form of equality remains unspoken but understood. Hearts get broken, then repaired, during the course of a lakeshore drive or a walk in a green meadow. Songtitles pose the questions: "Is It Love Inside?!?!" And the resolutions: "But It Doesn't Make A Difference."
Chopper -- Steven Deal, Robert Dietrich -- even salute the time-honored fashion of putting the chick's name in the title: "Edie (Will You Marry Me?)," "If You Knew Susie," "Emma Snowball." Encased in a non-saccharine but polished cocoon of Rickenbacker jangles, melodic keyboard lines, and "wimpy" vocal harmonies, these tunes glow mesmerizingly like a harvest moon. There's also just enough rawness present to let you know that "powerpop" is simply a variant of "rock," as the buzzsaw guitars of "Rich Kid" and the tumbling chords of the Records' "The Same Mistakes" will testify. Echoes of bands past (Badfinger), present (Pooh Sticks), and just plain timeless (Flamin' Groovies) are heard, but Chopper is still playing this for themselves. Maybe for the cute chicks they hope to meet. And for incurables like me.
FRED MILLS, THE BOB, 1994.
Jaunty, sugary pop romps centering on relationships. A pair of sensitive singer/guitar strummer/songwriter types whose delicate voices harmonize quite well. A modern stab at Badfinger's fun and tasteful craft.
REAL LIFE IN A BIG CITY #58, Dec. 93/Jan 94.
A NOT at all displeasing swirl of power punked-out drool guitar licks, poppy anthems and half-hearted handclaps that comes across all, "Ahhh...who gives a shoot," then develops into something almost special and psychedelic. I'm reminded of such '60's sugar sluggers as The Lollipop Shoppe (now Dead Moon), and that's no bad thing.**1/2.
KYD KARRION, RAW MAGAZINE, U.K. April 13, 1994.
Sweet, soft, yet slightly skewed pop -- infectious to the max, so much so that you can't help yourself... before you know it words like ginchy are rolling around on the tip of your tongue and your toes leap to keep time to the beat. The band manages to completely embrace the giddy lunacy of 60's pop yet leaves around room to hold on to a 90's edge.
B-SIDE, Feb/Mar '94.
From the opening title cut instrumental right through the unlisted acoustic based track #15 you, my friends, are in for one major ride on the '70's Raspberries rock slide. Hang on, this is a great one. Just as catchy as, dare I say, Mr. Sweet's organic GIRLFRIEND, and twice as bouncy. Robert Dietrich and ex-Bleached-er Steven Deal's CHOPPER is the nugget loaded with ringing Rickenbacker goodness and Brian Wilson genius that yer diet needs. Getting in just under wire, Slogans and Jingles easily makes the 1994 "Best Of" list. If Brian Wilson wasn't on another planet, he'd be diggin' this.
HOWE GLASSMAN, BUZZZ #95, Jan. 1994.
Don't be fooled by the opening instrumental. Chopper pull pop tunes spiked with mild drops of psychedelia from a chest full of old Beatles records. These starry-eyed lovers gape as worlds get turned upside down. Jangly guitar chords get caught up in the campy turmoil.
Chopper are masters at the art of falling apart. They're always upbeat in the face of lost love, and longing for it all in the same breath. Slogans and Jingles is an autobiographical collection of solid rock pop tunes that career up and down a broken ladder of unrequited love. Chopper care. It's shiny happy people music.
GLASS ONION, 1994.
...Which is why Chopper don't bore the way the Dentists do (although their boredom isn't without charm). They've obviously been raised on an old-fashioned American diet of cheeseburgers and chilifries. Which induce the two necessary ingredients in the best pop records -- clogged arteries and colon cancer. Such dietary plagues on the body are what add muscle to callow vocals, backwards guitars, guitars impersonating church bells, tambourines, studio craftsmanship, muscle-bound songwriting and all the other hallmarks of this and other great we-wanna- be-the-Left-Banke- or-at-least-the-Flamin'-Groovies records.
Now ask yourself before you plop down your hard-earned green for a batch of Big Choruses: Grainhead or prime teenage cholesterol? I thought so...
TIM STEGALL, ALTERNATIVE PRESS, March 1994.
PLASTIC FANTASTIC: Chopper -- the brainstorm of Milford guitarist Steve Deal, the onetime Stevo of Bleached Black infamy -- takes a quantum leap toward big-label possibilities. Their second album, "Slogans and Jingles" (Big Deal,distributed by Caroline), is THAT good.
Steve, joined by fellow singer/songwriter/guitarist Rob Dietrich, has somewhat toned down the late-80's Husker Du drone that propelled his first EP and album, while jacking up the pop level to nth extremes.
With polished harmonies and more hooks than a Christmas tree, it sounds as if they swallowed a history of '60's and '70's pop music before they sat down to write. The album gushes, OOZES sickly-sweet pure-pop for better or worse, mostly better.
"Emma Snowball" has the bounce and sleighbells of XTC, the harmonies of the TURTLES, and the guitar of BOB MOULD. Their cover of the RECORDS' "The Same Mistakes" also throws in a toughness you'd expect from the RASPBERRIES; the Records are also brought back to life on Steve's "Edie (Will You Marry Me?)" "Tripping On You" is classic, grinding jangle pop that would've fit in with mid-'60's and early-'80's audiences. "Swirling Girl" conjures BYRDS jangle, HOLLIES-clean vocals and dB'S whimsy. I could go on, but Stop! Stop! Stop! Already!
FRAN FRIED, NEW HAVEN REGISTER, 11/26/93.
Just when you think the power-pop genre has driven itself into the ground, along comes Chopper with their first full-length album. (A four song EP called 4PLAY came out a few years ago -- snap that puppy up if you can find it -- it's great.) Chopper is led by singers/songwriters/guitarists Robert Dietrich and Steven Deal (late of Bleached Black, an underappreciated late-80's power-pop trio), and their Slogans and Jingles is chock full of shiny, guitar driven nuggets that would sound great on the radio. Dietrich usually handles the more folky tracks and Deal the grungier ones, but they both cross over each way and they harmonize divinely. Simply put, these guys work really well together. Sure, the songs are the same old romantic yearnings, but are we really tired of that? Not when it's done this well.
Bonuses: an unlisted, psychedelicized track at the end and a cover of the Records' "The Same Mistakes".
MICHAEL TOLAND, P.C.P. Magazine, 1994.
