| Jesca Hoop • Complete Kismet Acoustic (2013) |
Jesca Hoop — Complete Kismet Acoustic
Birth name: Jessica Hoop
Born: 1975, Santa Rosa, California, United States
Genres: Folk, jazz, blues, pop, experimental
Instruments: Guitar, vocals
Location: Manchester, Northwest, United Kingdom
Album release: January 21, 2013
Record Label: Last Laugh / LASTL011D
Duration: 56:04
Tracks:
01. Silverscreen 4:04
02. Summertime 3:22
03. Out The Back Door 2:59
04. Seed Of Wonder 5:22
05. Enemy 3:17
06. Love Is All We Have 5:09
07. Intelligentactile 101 4:23
08. Havoc In Heaven 4:00
09. Reves Dans Le Creux 4:18
10. Money 5:07
11. Love & Love Again 4:34
12. Paradise 5:12
13. Worried Mind (acoustic) 4:21
Description:
∞ Jesca Hoop kicks off 2013 with her most recent offering The Complete Kismet Acoustic.
∞ Jesca presents the songs from her first studio album Kismet ( US release only ) in a stripped down bare bones fashion captured in live performance. Retaining four of the songs that formed the Kismet Acoustic EP, which introduced Jesca to the UK in 2008 she now completes the batch with the remaining 6 songs from her debut record ‘as live’ recordings. This acoustic simplistic incarnation re~evokes the combination of two acoustic guitars and three voices that represents many of her live performances. The arrangement brings focus to Hoop’s exceptional song craft and vocal performance . Added to this are two previously unheard tracks - Paradise and Worried Mind.
∞ The recordings were done in two stages. The first says Jesca with “dear friends in Los Angeles USA” and the second half “with homies in Manchester UK.”
REVIEW
By Alex on 22 January, 2013
∞ This week saw the release of Jesca Hoop’s new album ‘The Complete Kismet Acoustic‘ which you can stream in full below. There’s no mistaking her sound, idiosyncratic lyrics are part of her whole make up…she’s been writing them since the age of 14 to sing on the way to school. Her upbringing by Mormon parents in Northern California (she’s now based in Manchester, UK) introduced her to traditional folk song and harmonies but at 16 she escaped that life and left home to live a ‘life as a racoon’ as she calls it.
∞ She became a homesteader living off the grid…that link with nature is a strong one, she was a wilderness survival guide and developed other complimentary skills such as carpentry…but those songs were never far from her mind, sharing them with friends around camp-fires and porches. In 2004 she recorded her Silverscreen Demos followed three years later by her début release ‘Kismet’ (2007). The album brought interest from afar and prominent fans such as Tom Waits.
∞ ‘The Complete Kismet Acoustic‘ is, as the name suggests, acoustic versions of tracks that appeared on her début along with two new tracks. If I was forced to pick I’d say this outweighs her début and anything in between…her greatest strength is her voice. She is a singer of the greatest kind…curling those vocals sounds around words unlike anyone else, she gives them a life of their own, like toys in the hands of a curious child. ∞ The opening ‘Silverscreen‘ is quirky, playful, sexy and brilliant. There is no drop in that initial wow factor…it threads right the way through this album. The usual comparisons to Regina Spektor don’t add up on this album…on Enemy, a song that comes from a myth she was taught as a child, the harmonies resemble primitive flutes, a closer comparison to the psych~folk of Mariee Sioux whilst the mantra like choruses of ‘Seed of Wonder‘ call to mind the quirky folk of Larkin Grimm.
∞ Subtle chords allow her voice to soar heavenwards on ‘Love is all we have‘ a song about Hurricane Katrina that really tugs at the heart strings…
the old church bell
is in the graveyard
the old church bell
ohhh lace and stone
the naked feet
pound the pavement
of nameless streets
ohhh faceless homes
but deep in the heart of
the american
a prayer for new orleans
love me know now is all we have
love me now love is all we ever really had
∞ Her lyrics are creative and unlike any others…who else would come up with ‘Intelligentactile 101 a song from the womb:
Can i borrow your bones and marrow
till i get my own
lovely lovely lovely bones till i get my own
i won’t tell me new friends that they’re on loan
they won’t know
it’s no smart thing to do when you’re far from home
can i borrow your skin blushin to get lucky in
lucky lucky lucky with a special friend
well i hear that on planet earth that it’s a sing big sin
well all the more fun for me to get lucky then ∞ Thanks to the acoustic stripped back production this album was in many ways a personal rediscovery of Jesca Hoop in all her greatness. Tom Waits once said “her music is like going swimming in a lake at night”…I couldn’t agree more only on this release the after~effects are a lot longer lasting. Her best album to date by far!
Fortaken: http://www.folkradio.co.uk
Discography:
∞ Silverscreen Demos (November 23, 2004)
∞ Kismet (September 18, 2007)
∞ Kismet Acoustic EP (October 24, 2008)
∞ Hunting My Dress (November 30, 2009UK)
∞ Snowglobe EP (January 26, 2011UK)
∞ The House That Jack Built (June 25, 2012)
∞ The Complete Kismet Accoustic (Jan. 21, 2013)
Website: http://www.jescahoop.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jescahoop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JescaHoopMusic
Press contact:
Agent: US: UK/Europe:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jescahoop
REVIEW
Posted by: Jeremy Williams in Music 25 January 2013
∞ Born to Mormon parents in California, songstress Jesca Hoop launched her first full album back in 2007. The US~only release of Kismet sparked interest in the emotionally charged musician on this side of the pond. Her response was to unveil Kismet Acoustic EP for UK audiences in 2008. While this five~track EP consisted mainly of material from her début (opener ‘Murder of Birds’ was written for the EP), the UK has never been fully introduced to Hoop’s tempting début. A year later, Hoop rewarded her UK fanbase with the fully fledged, UK~recorded album Hunting My Dress. However, having now fully adopted Manchester as her home, Hoop has decided it is finally time to ensure her global fanbase are all equally aware of her entire back catalogue.
∞ With the album recorded in the two cities Hoop identifies as home — Los Angeles and Manchester — The Complete Kismet Acoustic is an unsurprisingly intimate affair. While Hoop won over a world of new fans with her irresistible and experimental 2012 album, The House That Jack, The Complete Kismet Acoustic offers greater insight into the skilled songcraft and artistry which has allowed Hoop to grow into the innovate, yet honest artist she is today.
∞ There is no word strong enough to fully capture the innate beauty that resonates throughout the tender, understated elegance of The Complete Kismet Acoustic. Hoop simply breathes out her lyrical wizardries and knocks her audience to the floor. While there are fleeting moments that shine brighter than the rest — the dreamy ‘Reves Dans La Creux’ and playful ‘Out The Back Door’ — Hoop’s reworking of her début offering only highlights the fact that she is a rarity in the music world — an artist whose catalogue has been flawless from the very outset.
∞ While The Complete Kismet Acoustic is driven towards Hoop’s loyal fanbase, it would also serve as a worthy introduction to an exciting talent.
Go Get It: ‘Out The Back Door’
Fortaken: http://sosogay.co.uk
| Jesca Hoop • Complete Kismet Acoustic (2013) |
Jesca Hoop — Complete Kismet Acoustic
Birth name: Jessica Hoop
Born: 1975, Santa Rosa, California, United States
Genres: Folk, jazz, blues, pop, experimental
Instruments: Guitar, vocals
Location: Manchester, Northwest, United Kingdom
Album release: January 21, 2013
Record Label: Last Laugh / LASTL011D
Duration: 56:04
Tracks:
01. Silverscreen 4:04
02. Summertime 3:22
03. Out The Back Door 2:59
04. Seed Of Wonder 5:22
05. Enemy 3:17
06. Love Is All We Have 5:09
07. Intelligentactile 101 4:23
08. Havoc In Heaven 4:00
09. Reves Dans Le Creux 4:18
10. Money 5:07
11. Love & Love Again 4:34
12. Paradise 5:12
13. Worried Mind (acoustic) 4:21
Description:
∞ Jesca Hoop kicks off 2013 with her most recent offering The Complete Kismet Acoustic.
∞ Jesca presents the songs from her first studio album Kismet ( US release only ) in a stripped down bare bones fashion captured in live performance. Retaining four of the songs that formed the Kismet Acoustic EP, which introduced Jesca to the UK in 2008 she now completes the batch with the remaining 6 songs from her debut record ‘as live’ recordings. This acoustic simplistic incarnation re~evokes the combination of two acoustic guitars and three voices that represents many of her live performances. The arrangement brings focus to Hoop’s exceptional song craft and vocal performance . Added to this are two previously unheard tracks - Paradise and Worried Mind.
∞ The recordings were done in two stages. The first says Jesca with “dear friends in Los Angeles USA” and the second half “with homies in Manchester UK.”
REVIEW
By Alex on 22 January, 2013
∞ This week saw the release of Jesca Hoop’s new album ‘The Complete Kismet Acoustic‘ which you can stream in full below. There’s no mistaking her sound, idiosyncratic lyrics are part of her whole make up…she’s been writing them since the age of 14 to sing on the way to school. Her upbringing by Mormon parents in Northern California (she’s now based in Manchester, UK) introduced her to traditional folk song and harmonies but at 16 she escaped that life and left home to live a ‘life as a racoon’ as she calls it.
∞ She became a homesteader living off the grid…that link with nature is a strong one, she was a wilderness survival guide and developed other complimentary skills such as carpentry…but those songs were never far from her mind, sharing them with friends around camp-fires and porches. In 2004 she recorded her Silverscreen Demos followed three years later by her début release ‘Kismet’ (2007). The album brought interest from afar and prominent fans such as Tom Waits.
∞ ‘The Complete Kismet Acoustic‘ is, as the name suggests, acoustic versions of tracks that appeared on her début along with two new tracks. If I was forced to pick I’d say this outweighs her début and anything in between…her greatest strength is her voice. She is a singer of the greatest kind…curling those vocals sounds around words unlike anyone else, she gives them a life of their own, like toys in the hands of a curious child. ∞ The opening ‘Silverscreen‘ is quirky, playful, sexy and brilliant. There is no drop in that initial wow factor…it threads right the way through this album. The usual comparisons to Regina Spektor don’t add up on this album…on Enemy, a song that comes from a myth she was taught as a child, the harmonies resemble primitive flutes, a closer comparison to the psych~folk of Mariee Sioux whilst the mantra like choruses of ‘Seed of Wonder‘ call to mind the quirky folk of Larkin Grimm.
∞ Subtle chords allow her voice to soar heavenwards on ‘Love is all we have‘ a song about Hurricane Katrina that really tugs at the heart strings…
the old church bell
is in the graveyard
the old church bell
ohhh lace and stone
the naked feet
pound the pavement
of nameless streets
ohhh faceless homes
but deep in the heart of
the american
a prayer for new orleans
love me know now is all we have
love me now love is all we ever really had
∞ Her lyrics are creative and unlike any others…who else would come up with ‘Intelligentactile 101 a song from the womb:
Can i borrow your bones and marrow
till i get my own
lovely lovely lovely bones till i get my own
i won’t tell me new friends that they’re on loan
they won’t know
it’s no smart thing to do when you’re far from home
can i borrow your skin blushin to get lucky in
lucky lucky lucky with a special friend
well i hear that on planet earth that it’s a sing big sin
well all the more fun for me to get lucky then ∞ Thanks to the acoustic stripped back production this album was in many ways a personal rediscovery of Jesca Hoop in all her greatness. Tom Waits once said “her music is like going swimming in a lake at night”…I couldn’t agree more only on this release the after~effects are a lot longer lasting. Her best album to date by far!
Fortaken: http://www.folkradio.co.uk
Discography:
∞ Silverscreen Demos (November 23, 2004)
∞ Kismet (September 18, 2007)
∞ Kismet Acoustic EP (October 24, 2008)
∞ Hunting My Dress (November 30, 2009UK)
∞ Snowglobe EP (January 26, 2011UK)
∞ The House That Jack Built (June 25, 2012)
∞ The Complete Kismet Accoustic (Jan. 21, 2013)
Website: http://www.jescahoop.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jescahoop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JescaHoopMusic
Press contact:
Agent: US: UK/Europe:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jescahoop
REVIEW
Posted by: Jeremy Williams in Music 25 January 2013
∞ Born to Mormon parents in California, songstress Jesca Hoop launched her first full album back in 2007. The US~only release of Kismet sparked interest in the emotionally charged musician on this side of the pond. Her response was to unveil Kismet Acoustic EP for UK audiences in 2008. While this five~track EP consisted mainly of material from her début (opener ‘Murder of Birds’ was written for the EP), the UK has never been fully introduced to Hoop’s tempting début. A year later, Hoop rewarded her UK fanbase with the fully fledged, UK~recorded album Hunting My Dress. However, having now fully adopted Manchester as her home, Hoop has decided it is finally time to ensure her global fanbase are all equally aware of her entire back catalogue.
∞ With the album recorded in the two cities Hoop identifies as home — Los Angeles and Manchester — The Complete Kismet Acoustic is an unsurprisingly intimate affair. While Hoop won over a world of new fans with her irresistible and experimental 2012 album, The House That Jack, The Complete Kismet Acoustic offers greater insight into the skilled songcraft and artistry which has allowed Hoop to grow into the innovate, yet honest artist she is today.
∞ There is no word strong enough to fully capture the innate beauty that resonates throughout the tender, understated elegance of The Complete Kismet Acoustic. Hoop simply breathes out her lyrical wizardries and knocks her audience to the floor. While there are fleeting moments that shine brighter than the rest — the dreamy ‘Reves Dans La Creux’ and playful ‘Out The Back Door’ — Hoop’s reworking of her début offering only highlights the fact that she is a rarity in the music world — an artist whose catalogue has been flawless from the very outset.
∞ While The Complete Kismet Acoustic is driven towards Hoop’s loyal fanbase, it would also serve as a worthy introduction to an exciting talent.
Go Get It: ‘Out The Back Door’
Fortaken: http://sosogay.co.uk