Jesca Hoop - The House That Jack Built

Jesca Hoop - Another head-turning collection of adventurous art/pop finds Hoop collaborating with three producers -- Shawn Everett and Blake Mills along with Tony Berg, who partnered with Hoop on her acclaimed 2010 album Hunting My Dress..."a drop of blood in the can from each of us rendered a more radical sound," observes the eclectic songstress // Release: The House That Jack Built (June 26, Bella Union) // Sounds like: Hoop's headspinning House has a dramatic, angular design that might not fit some tastes but we find the unpredictable combination of twisting, prickly melodies and bold, theatrical flair a welcome antidote to the mild, mainstream pap parading as "alternative" pop...as we noted on Hunting, these are "miniature vocal sonicscapes of startling originality, building songs that flit and dart, build and then break down again all against a backdrop of stark guitar runs, boldly progressive time measures and a tiny grab bag of head-turning production surprises"...for a peak inside the Hoop mystique watch the "Born To" video below...

Quote: “What a combination of minds, these three men & me. It was a real balancing act with tensions pulling toward one or the other. Striking that balance was the ticket to some of the most elevated moments in my musical collaborations to date.” // What we like: for every lovely chorus and delicately woven mood piece ("Pack Animal", the title track) there is a razor-sharp, brilliantly incendiary passage to shake things up ("Ode to Banksy", "When I'm Asleep"), sometimes within the same song...this is inspired, often challenging and, ultimately, deeply rewarding music from one of our most forward-thinking and creative performers...

 

Jesca Hoop - "The House That Jack Built" (from The House That Jack Built)

Jesca Hoop - "Born To" (from The House That Jack Built)