The House That Jack Built by Jesca Hoop

Released:  June 26, 2012
Rating:  70.00
Genre:  Singer/Songwriter

I've read comparisons of her songwriting  to Simon and Garfunkel; of the related artists on Spotify, the only one I recognize is My Brightest Diamond (sort of an operatic chamber-pop); and she's considered a contemporary of the likes of Devandra Banhart (the king of Freak-Folk).  When first contemplating her sound I was having a hard time characterizing it and, frankly, I didn't see the comparisons being made by the professionals.  However, the more I listen to it, I realize that if you could actually put those elements into a blender, you really would get Jesca Hoop.

She was actually discovered by a musical hero of mine: Tom Waits.  She was the nanny to his family for five years.

This is her third album (my first).  I really like a lot about this and would suggest you listen to: 

• The opener Born To.  A great folk pop song.  This is the hyperlink to the official video.
• The beautiful, melancholy Deeper Devastation.  This is a live recording, but it's very clean.

This wraps up the June releases for me. I picked up 6 new CDSs and, although they included Metric and Bobby Womack, both excellent records, the rest of the June releases were really good, but not great.  I picked up 7 albums in June and they are somewhat more varied: from Serj Tankian's hard-rock to Frank Ocean's R&B, inspired by Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.

Happy listening and, please, let me know what you're listening to these days.