Cannonball Jane is actually Connecticut school teacher Sharon Hagopian, who does everything herself in a home studio setup of beatboxes, samplers, synths and guitars. She’s already impressed with last year’s debut album, Street Vernacular, and seems ready to top that with this seven track EP of sometimes stunningly-original foragings. Pinning the sound down is tricky as it kicks off with the spirit-hoisting 60s girl group melodies in dub-rock of ‘Take It To Fantastic’, which comes with remixes from Adrock of the Beastie Boys and DJ Downfall. ‘Slumber Party’ recalls the Shangri-Las with haunting oboe, while ‘Breaker, Breaker’ injects psychedelic guitar tones over a drum ‘n’ bass groove-mutant before the big band dubscape of ‘The Secret Handshake’. With ‘Bossa-Tug’ invoking Francoise Hardy on the beach, it’s obvious that there are no rules in the musical world Sharon has built after school and it works a treat.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
