Send "Jesca Hoop " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Drownedinsound |
 "She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or a red moon," says Tom Waits of his children’s former nanny. But put this surreal celebrity connection to one side for a moment, as there might be more to this sentence than abstract wordplay. True, when Jesca Hoop sings she conjures up the wisdom of a woman who has lived a dozen lifetimes. Whether as a result of her humble Mormon upbringing or her years in the mountains of Arizona, there is a refined confidence in Hoop’s vocals that suggests a soul stacked with stories from the fringes of society; from the the very brink of civilisation. It is a surprise then, that Jesca Hoop manages to conglomerate her experiences of such abstract cultural landscapes into an album that is weirdly accessible, with a strange universality at its core. As ‘Whispering Light’ opens with almost avian a cappella hoots, Hunting My Dress is immediately fixed in the mystical forest of an ancient time. Muted guitars click through as though peering out from behind trees or lost in the long grass, while the rhythm wanders and wanders. Hoop’s slurred vocals add to the sense of the unknown; her chants become beautifully sinister....full text |
| Bbc |
| This beguiling Californian – now based in Manchester – has already gleaned a highly impressive array of admirers. Tom Waits, no less, has gone on record as saying that the sound of Jesca Hoop reminds him of “going swimming in a lake at night”. Waits formerly employed Hoop as nanny to his children – but would she have been better suited to a life of tidying away playthings over making discs? On the strong evidence presented by second album Hunting My Dress: not a chance. A sensual, eccentric and often frankly odd-sounding record, it exudes oodles of charisma and originality, thanks mostly to Hoop's delightfully freaky take on traditional folk convention. Guy Harvey of Elbow is another huge fan, and his duet with her, Murder of Birds, is an immediate standout on this collection. A touch of Edgar Allen Poe is clear to hear in lines such as “I've got demons / when I need 'ems”. Obvious comparisons are there to be made when listening to Hoop's impressive vocal range and almost scholarly attention to lyrical detail, the quickest to spring to mind being Björk and Kate Bush. But that's not to say that this record is either hackneyed of design or unapproachable for those with only an ear for the easiest pop. Stadium sing-alongs might be thin on the ground, but these really are songs that linger long in the memory. Some leathery and fibrous arrangements prevent ballads like Tulip from slipping much into the ephemeral, and the sheer ambition of Hoop’s attempts to cram so many disparate musical styles into one place – from madrigals to show tunes – make this hotly tipped talent fully deserving of the current buzz around her....full text |
| Guardian |
| A Californian resident in Manchester, Hoop comes hotly tipped, helped by a CV that includes a spell as Tom Waits's childminder. Waits's description of her music as "like going swimming in a lake at night" proves apt for her crystal vocals and the shimmering, booming backings on, say, "Whispering Light", or of more spartan, psych-folk pieces like "Murder of Birds". Hoop's a shape-shifter, though, comfortable with blues flavours or a murder ballad ("Tulips"), while her melodies and nature-inspired imagery have the relentless, angular quality of Kate Bush or Björk. An assured innovative, impressive piece of work....full text |
Jesca Hoop lyrics
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