Mo Troper speaks volumes about what hasn't with the help of his latest release, "When She Says My Name." The Portlander reemerges with a song that feels both eraless and skyward-reaching, a leap forward in his excellent discography.
The song, recorded at Los Angeles' storied New Monkey Studio, started with some historical baggage while somehow sounding completely au courant. Troper is accompanied by a pretty impressive list of collaborators, including Blue Broderick of Diners and Auguste Patino, as well as players who are currently in Father John Misty's band. The result is a rich, hi-fi sound that retains Troper's signature pop instincts but feels somehow grander and more striking as well as undeniably touching.
"When She Says My Name" occupies that golden turf where Elephant 6 experimentation meets the warmth of Laurel Canyon folk-rock. Troper's voice is intimate and aching, wrapped in instrumentation that lights like California sunlight through studio glass. It is the sort of track that sticks with you long after it's done, a song that feels personal and universal, touching and hopeful.
The song is a promising hint of what's to come from Troper. If Svengali was the template for his pop craftsmanship, "When She Says My Name" is the widescreen version of that, broadening his palette but not sacrificing any of the cutting candor at the heart of his work. Mo Troper's work reminds us that a good song not only sticks, but touches and echoes and names us back.