]\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: I’ve been playing guitars for 22 years, not that one could tell. I have enjoyed many guitars over time, but I’ve only ever loved one, my white Gibson ES 140 slimline 3/4-scale hollow body that came to me by the hands of my great friend and musical collaborator Blake Mills. It got a rich dark tone somewhat like a cello. It’s super light and small, and it travels with me all around the world. True love.
