Plucked from obscurity over in the US by Elbow, a band recently and famously plucked from the gallows by last gasp blaster The Seldom Seen Kid, Jesca Hoop has come to our shores backed by Britain’s newest favourite band.
But it seems to me that she’s been plucked from somewhere far less familiar than the US. Her Elfin eccentricities speak more of the sinister and strange actions of fairies at the bottom of your garden, or the elves of Middle Earth than anything as familiar as America. It’s this weird otherness that she captures with her lunar music, and it’s a fascinating, captivating sound.
It’s the sound of the night, of mystery, and of someone with the actual genius of Bjork rather than the nearly genius of Bat For Lashes.
Angel Mom is simply blinding. It’s a delicate angelic sound that flips to and from mania without feeling forced (no mean feat), and Murder of Birds is an astounding, fluttering love song that avoids every cliché in a cliché ridden topic.
There’s something really special about Jesca. It’s far more than that strange missing “i” that sets her apart, its everything. She’s like some strange entity from another planet, and she puzzles and fascinates in equal quantities.
A late addition to the albums of 2009 I think…and know.
I started out writing for the Manchester Evening News as a freelance journalist back in 2008. The idea that I would be given free access to music and gigs seemed somehow miraculous to me, and I proceeded to take full advantage of the situation. When the M.E.N. decided to constrict its coverage to only the very biggest bands, Simon Poole approached me with a plan to make sure that all the very talented musicians of this world that pass through and/or live in Manchester would not go unnoticed. As the New Releases editor here at Silent Radio Towers, it remains my proud duty to cast a critical eye over the music and reviews that come my way in a manner that is both supportive and fair. Above all, I strive to write as entertainingly possible. Favourite musicians include the Pixies, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Mercury Rev, Os Mutantes, The Knife, Beach House etc etc. I'm a firm believer that all genres (except nu-metal) contain music of great quality...
