The first thing you notice about singer/songwriter Jesca Hoop’s seventh full-length is how spare it sounds, each song assembled only from two or three instrumental elements and Hoop’s warm-yet-adaptive, shape-shifting voice. Then you stop hearing that sparseness, so rich does the album sound. Somewhere near a half-hour into its 40-minute running time, it hits you again, and you start wondering how the hell Memories Are Now can sound so expansive, considering its skeletal arrangements. Hoop will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our feature.
Hoop: This is an instrument that I take with me when I travel. It’s better than any other self-massaging tool that I have used. If you like to dig in deep, this guy helps get in there and all you need is your own two hands and this hook. I use it to help warm up and down from a show to help loosen the muscle in my neck, throat and shoulders. I don’t leave home without it.
