Live Review

Jesca Hoop – The Slaughtered Lamb, London

• 2nd Dec 2009

Jesca Hoop picked a cosy little basement to play in to promote her new album “Hunting Mr Dress” in central London. With a sold out little room that seems rather stuffy for too much comfort, Ms Hoop has herself and her two pals station in a corner for her largely acoustical set.

She begins her performance walking in front of the crowd and singing free of the mic or any instruments. It’s a very warm and intimate introduction to her set that connects her to an attentive crowd sitting before her.

Her style of singing is very obscure at times and seems more about the playing around with the sound of the lyric and the pentameter it is projected rather than about the words itself to a degree. It makes her work arty, but it also defines her voice and is something very soothing still to listen to. All jokes aside the material itself is sometimes very haunting – like the singers’ voices, but never depressing.

In between songs she sometimes has amusing and even touching little stories to tell the crowd, and there is an amusing interplay between her, her co-singer and the rather put upon guitarist sitting behind them forced to try on an array of silly stage hats.

With an array of very folk inspired songs, Hoop has a bright future as an artist ahead of her, and the shoe fits as far as small live venues are concerned. With her second album out now she is clearly on her path, and in future let’s hope she manages to emerge a little bit more, and not hide in basement bars for all her career.