Snowglobe (EP)

Snowglobe is an EP by Jesca Hoop, self-released through Last Laugh records on March 7, 2011.[1] It was recorded after the artist moved to Manchester, England, although the material was written largely prior to the move. It contains four new songs, supplemented by two acoustic renditions of previously released songs. The track 'City Bird' was released as a free download on January 26, 2011,[2] while the album was followed by a UK tour.[3]

Snowglobe
EP by
Jesca Hoop
ReleasedMarch 7, 2011 UK
RecordedBlueprint Studios, Salford, SSR Studios, Manchester, Future Works Studio, Manchester.
GenreFolk
Length25:09
LabelRepublic of Music
ProducerPaul Mortlock, Mano McGlaughlin, Dave Jay
Jesca Hoop chronology
Hunting My Dress
(2009)		 Snowglobe
(2011)		 The House That Jack Built
(2012)

Hoop described the experiences of living in downtown LA in ‘City Bird’ where she found that “the block I moved onto was lined with these cardboard houses and people sleeping in doorways", which was contrasted with “expresses my absolute love for home” in ‘While You Were Away’. A left-over from her previous album Hunting My Dress, the song ‘Snowglobe’ referred to her mother's funeral which she “would have put [...] the album to accompany the other two songs that I wrote for her, but the truth is that I could not sing it with out getting choked up”. The regular a cappella curtain-closer for her live-shows, ‘Storms Make Grey the Sea’ was written "by the sea".[3] Although describing them as folk songs, Hoop maintained that while "folk tends to go towards your intellect, [she also wants to] tap into how your body relates to music".[4]

Critical reception

The album received some critical acclaim, with Drowned in Sound calling it "a concise but precise chapter in the Hoop story",[5] while the NME described it as an 'deceptively opaque EP'.[6] The Guardian explained that "musically at least, is simpler and starker. The focus is on Hoop's otherworldly voice (...) while cello and guitar wisp around her".[4]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
NME6/10 [6]
Drowned in Sound7/10 [5]
Female First4/5 [7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jesca Hoop.

No.TitleLength
1."City Bird"4:15
2."While You Were Away"3:49
3."Snowglobe"4:58
4."Silverscreen (acoustic)[8]"4:04
5."Rêves Dans les Creux" (acoustic)[9]"5:47
6."Storms Make Grey the Sea"2:14

Personnel
  • Jesca Hoop – vocals, guitar, piano, percussion
  • Jon Thorne – double bass (track 1)
  • Sophia Lineman – cello (track 1)
  • Sam Morris – French horn (track 1)
  • Tim Thomas – percussion (track 3)
  • Jim Wallace – guitar (track 4)
  • Rebecca Stephens – backing vocals (track 4)
  • Zoe Chiotis – backing vocals (track 4)
  • Dave Jay – musical box, vibraphone, guitars
Technical personnel
  • Paul Mortlock – engineering, production (tracks 1,2) & mastering
  • Mano McGlaughlin – production (track 3)
  • Tim Thomas – engineering, mixing (track 3)
  • Matt Killerby – engineering, mixing (track 4 and 6 (mixing)
  • Marcus Alexander – engineering, mixing (track 5)
  • Dave Jay – production, arrangement (track 5)
  • Katell Sevellec – vocal coach (track 5)
  • Jason Looney – engineering (track 6)
Design
  • Melanie Knott – design
  • Frank Ockenfels – photography

References
  1. "Discog's" Snowglobe EP entry on Discogs.com, accessed June 24, 2014.
  2. 'City Bird' video released March 9th, 2011
  3. "Glasswerk" Laura Johnson, 'Jesca Hoop To Release New EP', Glasswerk, January 28, 2011.
  4. "Guardian 2011" Maddy Costa, 'Jesca Hoop: 'I used to live under a tree', The Guardian, April 6, 2011.
  5. "DiS review" Lauren Strain, 'Ep Review: Jesca Hoop - Snowglobe EP', Drowned in Sound, April 5, 2011.
  6. "NME review" Simon Jay Catling, 'Album Review: Jesca Hoop - Snowglobe Review', NME, March 30, 2011.
  7. "Female First Review" Antonia Charlesworth, 'EP Review: Jesca Hoop - Snowglobe', Female First, March 17, 2011.
  8. Acoustic version of song from Silverscreen Demos
  9. French version of 'Dreams in the Hollow', from Kismet translated by Natasha Barrault.
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