“Consider it a total write-off / To contemplate a total loss / Well maybe we should start all over again.”
So sings Trolley singer-guitarist-producer Mike Perotto on the opening title track of the band’s new album, A Carnival Of Grey & White. It’s a poignant and painful line: Perotto passed away in 2021 at the far-too-young age of 47. He left behind devastated friends and family, as well as a half-completed Trolley album. Bassist Terry Hackbarth and guitarist Paul J. Wall—along with producer Shane Olivo—spent the past four years slowly finishing that record. The result, Carnival, arrived in October, just in time for Trolley’s 30th anniversary.
Yes, the dapper Mod- and psych-influenced Milwaukee power-pop band has been at it for a full three decades. Winning singles like “Born In ’77” first surfaced in the mid-’90s; the band’s first full-length, the Smart Studios-recorded Head vs. Heart, arrived in 1999. Carnival is Trolley’s first new LP since 2016’s Caught In The Darkness, and though tragedy hangs over the proceedings (the record is of course dedicated to Perotto), it’s a fantastic piece of work. Listen:
Carnival is loaded with all the ’60s-inspired hooks and songcraft one would expect from Trolley. Tracks like “As Long As I Can Find You” and “Do It For The Girl” sound like long-lost gems that have been buried in your brain for decades. (The latter is closer to ’70s/’80s power-pop than ’60s psychedelia.) But it’s the bursts of musical color that elevate the record to something truly special. The timpani on “Father Time (Will Take)” and other tracks; the bells on the Elvis Costello-esque “Radio Silence”; the galloping rhythms of “Starlight” and “First Day Of Your Life” (the latter comes complete with brass); and a welcome guest vocal spot from Testa Rosa’s Betty Blexrud-Strigens. Things wrap up with the aptly named “Since The Drugs Wore Off,” the sounds of a lone acoustic guitar and the chirping of birds adding a final dash of color.
At 13 songs and 40-plus minutes, Carnival is a generous and agreeably overstuffed record. It’s also a fantastic “record” record. Virtually any song could be plucked from the lineup and promoted to single status, yet the album is best experienced as a whole: a swirling and impeccably crafted celebration of music, friendship, and life. Bittersweet, yes, but a celebration nonetheless.
Trolley will host a free listening party for A Carnival Of Grey & White on Friday, November 14 at Wiggle Room. The event begins at 8 p.m. You can purchase the record HERE.
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