| It would be easy to compare Lauren Hoffman with P.J. Harvey: an intensity of lyric and delivery that combines extreme vulnerability with frightening strength, often simultaneously, and sometimes rife with violent and jarring imagery. Like the British anti-diva, Hoffman seems willing to strip herself bare to dig down to the very depths of her emotional life, endeavoring to make sense of the tumult residing within and delivering these sullied pearls for her listeners. Hoffman is no mimic, however; her unwavering honesty and willingness to experiment with instrumentation -- odd analog electronica, strange noises, guitars, always stripped down and minimal -- reveal a true original musical creator. She'll sometimes lean towards the whimsical with her lyrics (e.g. "This house is full of insects and rodents / I shiver in my sleep / I shiver as they creep"). The metaphor continues and expands -- what we gain is insight into an imaginative and original thinker, one who can combine the childlike with the chilling, just like a Grimm fairy tale. Find Lauren Hoffman cds and Lauren Hoffman records on Virgin Records. |
