Jumping Through Hoops
Singer/songwriter Jesca Hoop soars into a rare orbit with eclectic debut

By Ryan Gray

A spoonful of spice, in this case a dash of this and a pinch of that from the four corners of musical madness, can sometimes make the medicine more tolerable. And sometimes it can make things downright succulent.

Mad is precisely the word to describe Los Angeles’ Jesca Hoop, musically of course, as she finds a way to mesh country, jazz, folk, blues, pop, chamber music, and even Chinese folklore into her songs. That in itself should give you a clue of the magical journey you’re in for with her debut album, Kismet, to be released Sept. 18 by 3Entertainment/Columbia Records/Red Ink.

Mad is so fine an adjective Hoop even uses it on her own MySpace page to describe the free-form aural gymnastics she adroitly performs. And it was to MySpace I turned when seeking more information on Hoop, as I enjoyed every twist and turn during her 50-minute joyride over ethereal landscapes. There online amid the requisite bombshell beauties, freaks and other dateless wonders my initial reaction to her music was validated. There among the froth of Top 40 hit makers and Indie wannabees was the back story on something truly evolutionary, absurdly good even, that it is prone to instantly exile those born with discerning ears absent from their boring little baby heads.

“Money” does make the world go ‘round, so she sings, but more so her music spins the licorice with free-wheeling, pull-no-punches vibe that is quite endearing.

Whether it’s her destiny or a bit of old fashioned luck, Hoop’s music is as diverse as her moods on Kismet: you’re never quite sure what to expect. The story goes that this jack-Mormon, who made her first splash in professional waters at age 7 by singing a jingle espousing the benefits of potty-training, caught her big break as the family nanny for Tom Waits. He got a hold of her demo and the rest as they say is history. Give her Kismet a try and you’ll apt to discover it’s even better to be lucky and really damn good.

Fringe music lovers certainly thought so earlier this year, making Hoop the most requested artist on radio station KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. DJ Nick Harcourt thought so much of her that secured a spot for her on NPR Music's All Songs Considered as an opening act for The Polyphonic Spree.

Edith Piaf, the late 20th-Century French chanteuse, heavily influences Hoop’s works, and Hoop admits as much. Yet her musical meanderings, which border on the peculiarly brilliant, cannot be so easily explained, sounding on one hand definitively country, such as during the opening track “Summertime” before oozing pop-angst in the very song’s chorus. Then she meshes stoccatoed Hip Hop vocals and Eastern European gypsy-sounding music with the idiosyncratic stylings of Kate Bush in “Seed of Wonder.” As if that’s not enough, you’d be sure she is auditioning for Bjork on possibly the album’s best piece, the awkwardly worded yet apropos title of “Intellegentactile101.” But aside from her more eclectic moments, Hoops hits strides for the average pop fan with “Love and Love Again” backed by dreamy piano and strings as well as with “Love is All We Have” and “Out the Back Door.”

And it’s the various artists with which Hoop collaborates that speaks literal volumes to the respect for her measured madness. Besides co-producers Damian Anthony and Tony Berg, she credits drummer Stuart Copeland, whom she said she “adored” with The Police. Copeland adds intriguing syncopated layers throughout Kismet.

Hoops, who also plays guitar on much of the album, also wrote every song herself but one, the aforementioned and show-tune influenced “Love and Love Again,” on which she collaborated with storied folkster David Baerwald. The same man of 1980s David & David fame and for his Golden Globe nomination for writing the song "Come What May" on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. He also knows a thing or two about what new artists to collaborate with as he co-wrote the single “All I Wanna Do” with Sheryl Crow on her 1993 breakthrough Tuesday Night Music Club.

Whether Hoop also is named Best New Artist of the Year remains to be seen, but she more than makes her case. Her only drawback may be that she pushes the sonic envelope too far, if so another indication the devil wears a corporate suit.

Those of you in Southern California can decide for yourself during the Kismet album release party on Sept. 19 at Hollywood’s Ivar Theater. It’s bound to be one mad evening.