Hood
Leeds, United Kingdom5 reviews across 5 releases
Hood was formed in Wetherby, England, in 1990 and developed a damaged form of lo-fi pop into pastoral post-rock with electronic elements. The music relied on breathy vocals, fragile melodies and layers that seemed close to collapse, often using field recordings or a lone piano and horn to create an atmosphere of grey, enclosed countryside. The Cycle of Days and Seasons, the 1999 Domino release, established that sound in its most austere form. The 2001 Home Is Where It Hurts introduced more conspicuous drum-machine damage and glitchy electronics, while Cold House pushed the change further through fractured beats, cut-up vocals and contributions from Dose One and Why?. Even at its most abstract, Hood kept those sounds within slow, melancholy song structures.
In 2005, Hood released Outside Closer and then went on long-term hiatus. The record refined the electronic approach of Cold House by setting sputtering beats against acoustic guitar, strings and distant horns, while its second half returned toward the pastoral textures of the earlier work. The Adams brothers then pursued separate projects: Chris Adams developed Bracken, with Downpour also drawing on his drum-and-bass experiments, while Richard Adams began The Declining Winter in 2007. The group did not resume regular activity, although both brothers continued releasing music under those names.
