Cool teachers tended to be thin on the ground when I attended school all those years ago. Usually the coolest teachers were to be found in the Creative Arts field as they at least showed some signs of being in touch with the teenagers. Doubtless, if you had Sharon Hagopian as a music teacher, lessons would be very “cool” indeed, especially when she performs as Cannonball Jane away from lesson time. ‘Knees Up!’ is an EP of experimental homemade pop made to sound very expensive.
‘Slumber Party’ carries echoes of 60’s girl groups even down to the big Wall Of Sound production effects. ‘The Secret Handshake’ tackles big-band, police sirens and a little bit of rapping. What carries this music into the modern world is Hagopian’s clever choice of hip-hop beats. Cleary her main calling card on this EP though, is ‘Take It To Fantastic’, so much so that it is featured here in original and two remix forms, one by Beastie Boy Adrock no less although she has more in common with another of The Beastie Boys’ former proteges, Luscious Jackson. Granted, what amounts to just five tracks isn’t much to form an opinion on but this is nonetheless an impressive collage of old and new sounds formed into something that indicates sure signs of an individual talent who is - lest we forget - rather cool.
Web Sites:
Official Cannonball Jane Site
Cannonball Jane MySpace
Further Listening:
Beck, Beastie Boys, The Ronettes, The Shangri-La’s, Luscious Jackson
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