Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny: Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose

By Shayna D’Arezzo

Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose takes us on an enchanting journey with Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny. Beginning the album with the song “Sweet Tooth Bird,” we are thrown into a track that mixes strong vocals, peppy trumpeting, and heavy use of the piano and drums.  Houghton’s range of vocals and unusual, quirky styling in her tracks allow us to feel like we are living in a fairy tale with her.  Each track has its own special charm to it. Some containing more of a focus on a capella chorus vocal and a low-key feel, like “Barely Skinny Bone Tree” and “Veins.” Some tracks focus more on glam rock elements with strong, soulful vocals like in “Dodecahedron” and “Atlas,” which was a favorite of mine. The range in Houghton’s pure voice and fast-paced beat in this song is beyond catchy.
It’s difficult to put Houghton and her band into just one musical category, because her music contains a dream-like mixture of folk alongside a wide range of orchestral instrumentation. Houghton and The Hooves experiment with violins, cellos, xylophones, and banjos throughout the entirety of their album. One thing that can not be argued, however, is that Houghton has a mesmerizing, emotive voice that covers great range through every song. Her voice reminds me of Florence Welch, with a hint of Laura Marling. However, her music has more of a folky feel in comparison–especially with tracks like “Carousel” and “Humble Digs,” which both feature a strong acoustic feel and major use of the violin.
Cellophane Nose definitely has an eclectic, fun, breezy feel to the entire album as a whole. The imagery and mystery that is created throughout keeps you guessing and continuously wanting more as you float from one track to the next. Despite the fact that when listening there are points in which the collaboration of different instruments is a bit overwhelming, this album is worth a listen. I’m looking forward to hearing more from this 21-year-old and The Hooves.

Rating: 7.8/10

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