Tom Waits' "good witch": Jesca Hoop
(Credit: Frank Ockenfel)
Hyped on: MorphBlog; Monsters and Critics; Perfect Porridge
Official site
MySpace
Who: A Mormon-turned-hippie who now hangs out with Los Angeles’ Topanga Canyon neo-folk crowd (think Devendra Banhart, Ditty Bops), Jesca Hoop was “discovered” by Tom Waits while she worked as his nanny and got her first break when KCRW’s tastemaker DJ Nic Harcourt started playing her demos. “Jesca Hoop's music is like a four sided coin,” says Waits. “She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or a red moon.” Thanks for clearing that up, Tom!
What: Hoop brings traces of church hymns and campfire singalongs to her weird, ethereal music, which takes so many twists and turns, you’ll sometimes think the CD skipped to another song by accident. Her best stuff, like “Intelligentactile 101,” is delightfully bent chamber pop, as Hoop sings about borrowing someone’s bones and swinging from the stars on an umbilical chord over fuzzed-out guitars, banjos and ambient racket.
Made for: Starry-eyed, barefoot hippie chicks—and the hippie dudes who love them. Fans of Tom Waits’ older, more melodic (but still weird) stuff. Romantic vegan restaurants and organic coffee bars. Recovering freak folkies.
X-Factor: The last track on “Kismet,” “Love and Love Again,” was co-written by veteran LA musician David Baerwald, who also co-wrote most of the hits on Sheryl Crow’s debut album, “Tuesday Night Music Club.” - AH
Madlib, “Beat Konducta in India” (Stones Throw)
Hyped on: think tank; Audiversity
Official site
MySpace
Who: The insanely prolific, Los Angeles-based DJ/producer Madlib has more than proven his mettle as a true hip-hop maverick. Given his panoramic perspective, he’s also been given to applying his inimitable remixing skills into other genres of music. His legendary raids through both the Blue Note jazz catalog (“Shades of Blue”) and the dub reggae vaults of Trojan (“Blunted in the Bomb Shelter”) are vibrant testaments to his vast sonic prowess.
What: “Beat Konducta in India” finds our hero digging deep into the crates of classic Bollywood beats and soundtracks, reconstructing the eerie sitar melodies into funky swaths of rhythmic genius. There’s no need to get stoned to be blown away by these bomb tracks; a few cuts in, and it feels like you’ve been doing bong rips in the well-stocked harem of a freaky Indian prince.
Made for: Obsessive crate-diggers, beat freaks and hardcore hip-hop production heads in need of something seriously out there. Your next Bollywood appreciation dance party. The most exclusive sneaker boutiques in town. The Cannabis Cup.
X-Factor: Madlib’s brother, Oh No, has released three CDs of equally twisted hip-hop-and-beyond productions on the Stones Throw label, and can righteously rock the microphone to boot. - SS
Rogue Wave, “Asleep at Heaven’s Gate” (Brushfire)
Hyped on: stereogum; Red Blondehead; I Am Fuel, You Are Friends
Official site
MySpace
Who: Frontman Zach Rogue (Schwartz by birth) self-released his way into the hearts of West Coast indie powerhouse Sup Pop Records, earning instant (and justified) comparisons to labelmates the Shins. Rogue is the sort of freakishly prolific multi-instrumentalist that brings to mind Colin Meloy and Sufjan Stevens—“Heaven’s Gate” features over 150 instruments. Rogue, like Stevens, has taken a keen interest in the Midwest, penning songs loosely built around Chicago and Lake Michigan. For a Bay Area dude, it’s an interesting choice to write about the Daly political machine.
What: Robust from the top, “Harmonium” is a dreamy six minutes, with layers of piano and drums. “Like I Needed” hones Rogue’s skills for threading a melody through a mad stew of ambient sounds—rolling drum machine samples, crashes, hollow guitar squalls. Standout first single “Lake Michigan” pushes guitar pop to the max, with rigorous acoustic strumming, more ambient patchwork and Rogue-upon-Rogue harmonies.
Made for: Fans of melodic yet challenging pop tunes (Aloha and Built to Spill). People who thought that last Shins album was a total zzz.
X-Factor: “Heaven’s Gate” marks the band’s debut with Brushfire Records, run by the markedly less innovative Jack Johnson. - MR
Add a comment