review 4 All Music Guide

Recorded in December 2001, two years after Hubbub’s debut {Ub/Abu},
{'Hoop Whoop'} shows a lot of maturation as a group. The music has grown
somewhat busier, less entrenched in the {AMM}/{Spontaneous Music Ensemble}
axis of free improvisation. It doesn’t mean that it has become overtly
noisy, but to the focus on listening and the research in tiny aspects of
sounds, the group has added a gutsier feel that recalls the feverishness of
drummer {Edward Perraud}’s old experimental rock band {Shub-Niggurath}
(especially in its later stages). The music is generally dominated by
{Frédéric Blondy’s piano and {Jean-Sébastien Mariage}’s electric guitar.
They both tend to play more extrovertly and loud. Mariage’s feedback gnarl
carries the piece for several minutes in “Part II” (the album consists of a
continuous improvisation of 53 minutes indexed in four parts for
convenience). Blondy’s feverish runs in the bass register give a maniacal
pace to the second half of “Part III” -- Mariage is quick to match him with
a gritty sustained note while Perraud heats up on the drums and the
saxophones of {Bertrand Denzler} and {Jean-Luc Guionnet} flutter like two
parakeets arguing each other’s head off. At this point, the level of group
playing reaches its peak. In the quieter sections (especially the first and
last parts), the saxophonists take a more prominent role, using extended
techniques to extract strange whispers and odd cries from their instruments...
'Hoop Whoop' is one of the great free improv albums of 2003.

François Couture
All Music Guide