Jesca Hoop: 2019

The political is personal and hope lives with darkness on Jesca Hoop’s fifth solo album, Stonechild, perhaps her most ambitious release to date. It’s the native Californian’s first album recorded in England, where she’s lived for over a decade, and it pairs her with producer John Parish.  (She also plays New York's Mercury Lounge on November 21.)

With complex arrangements, focused attention to alternative tunings, and songs that weave the traditions of English folk with progressive ideas, Stonechild is one of the most compelling albums of 2019. Hoop's voice has never sounded more beautiful or achingly wistful, especially on the two songs that she chose to perform in Studio A: “Outside of Eden” and “All Time Low.”

We also talked about Hoop's songwriting life in Manchester, her work with This is the Kit’s Kate Stables and Lucius’s Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, and her robust collaboration with Parish, who has also produced This is the Kit, PJ Harvey, and Aldous Harding.

[Recorded: 7/22/19; Engineer: Sam Lazarev; Producer: Sarah Wardrop]