Hood and Cold House

I finally woke up and bought a Hood record -- the new one -- after hearing the umpteenth comparison to Bark Psychosis. It's a scary comparison for me since I have an eternal chubby for BP, but I took the gamble and it makes a little sense. Haven't made my way completely through the record yet, though it does seem a little uneven. Second song instantly made me think of the missing Disco Inferno single -- or what a DI reunion single might sound like. (Yeah -- have another scary comparison.)

Hood are similar to Radiohead in the sense of bolting idm/glitcy paraphenalia onto trad. indie/rock format... but I don't feel they're superior (then again, I am unfortunately a drooling radiohead fanatic.) why? er, I can't really say - I think what Radiohead do is less obvious, perhaps, than some of this here Hood stuff. That is, despite Amnesiac being a lot less cohesive than Kid A, their use of electronics (etc) is a lot more subtle than on Cold House.

I reckon the best moments on the album are the ones which dont't go for overt electronica showiness or revert to indie type but strike for a middle course - "You Show No Emotion At All" is very electronic but in a more classicist New Order meets Disco Inferno sort of way, and there's some other great tracks that sound like nods to Bark Psychosis (one actually sounds like a collabo between BP and Maurizio!) although Hood could benefit from a bit more of Bark Psychosis' finesse.

Melissa's also OTM in that they need to be better (or at least more consistent) songwriters. "You Show No Emotion At All" is fabulous, but otherwise their appeal is almost entirely textural, which is strange for such a comparatively song-focused band. That said, I need to listen to the album a lot more before I make up my mind entirely.

You have made me a Happy Man.

Hood's progression doesn't seem as much of an about-face as Radiohead's. It comes across as a bit more natural.

sorry this is off topic.

Salako? Yes, Ambrose, I thought of John S. from the Palace glory years as well. As far as their music went, I loved "(Have You Heard) Musicality" but, somehow, never heard anything else.

oddly, I'm transplanting some of the imagery to what I'm familiar with ("The River Curls Around The Town" reminds me of when I could see my breath in Wimborne Minster, the *formality* of the winter landscape, very creepy and quite frightening, pure 1959) but it's clearly a very Northern aesthetic - closer to Barry Cockcroft's snowy moorland landscapes than to the Leeds streets of Braintax and Robbie Keane.

also have visions of the foot-and-mouth pyres (esp. during "The Winter Hit Hard"). "I Can't Find My Brittle Youth" is very different from the rest of the album and is a great, awkward, angular song - maybe that is the dislocated-by-the-city moment.

Artist: Hood Label: Sensory Projections

Whilst for the northern part of the world, December brings
sleet and snow, maudlin melancholy, winds and welcomings of
seasons greetings and regrets, down here in the outer
antipodes we swelter on. The news flashes images of buffed
bodies beaching themselves, whilst the puerile pomp of
ceremonial pop blasts out from sound systems more
expensive than the cars where they have been installed.
Thankfully, for those of us more accustomed to mapping out
the spaces of our heads and homes, UK outfit Hood have
offered up their third album, the first to obtain a local
Australian release, where by they run riot on the blank slab of a winter sonic dream,
crisscrossing generic boundaries with a deft touch that offers up possibilities as quickly
as it moves onto new arenas.
What's so noticeable about Cold House, is paradoxically, it's unnoticabilty. In our
expectations of media-saturation and MTV madness, am album like this slips under the
surface, quietly calling out to be heard, not in a demonstrative, publicity-whored
manner, but more in a gradual process of recognition. Play after play has seduced me -
at first, it was the detachment of the vocals, a wryness that sat at odds with the
lyrical content of tunes like "You Show No Emotion At All". Then the orchestration takes
hold, in between the glitches and crackles of beats broken up, disturbed by pouting
trumpets and petulant violins. Each new listen brings up something fresh, and after 8
or 9 runs through, I'm still left jaw-slacked by peeps unnoticed before.
Hood's collaborations with hip-hop collective Anticon are equally unnoticeable,
suggesting a cohesion perfected by musical agreement, as Hood move from IDM
(Intelligent Dance Music) styled musings to more "structured" songs such as "I Can't
Find My Brittle Youth", a New Order-like melody that fractures into repeated
guitar-und-strum, only to be taken over by the Aphex Twin-like beginnings of "This is
What We Do To Sell Out(s)". Though many have compared this offering to Radiohead's
Amnesiac, Cold House is more mechanised and yet more human, more intertwining of
the elements rather than the seemingly-alienated antics of York and co. There's a
sense of escape offered here by the elements, at the same time as offering an
immersion into this haunting construction, daunting yet strangely cohesive.
So an album of beautiful paradoxes, hopeful glimpses, yet even longer longing. Frail yet
powerful, Cold House is the late-bloomer, the wallflower that reveals itself as one of the
most intelligent and rewarding releases of this year. Offering hope in the senseless
season of glib commerciality and throw-away sentiment, Hood are making grandiose and
gorgeous music to believe in.

From Logged Off, http://home.iprimus.com.au/laurapalmer/hood.htm

richard from hood's new album as "the declining winter" is out, called haunt the upper hallways, and features a remix of my song "Kavan". Lovely package all around (both a 7" and a CD)

Agreed, that arrived in the mail the other week. Been waiting for an AMG listing to appear so I can review it!

actually I haven't even seen it yet (I heard the remix work ages ago)! I think he also used a sample of our cello in something else. I can't remember.

It's "Cold House" season.

"Cold House" season has come a little earlier this year.

I feel you. It's still "Rustic Houses, Forlorn Valleys" season for me, a lot. But I'm sure "Cold House" season is just around the corner.

^Ha. Played the former last week. And yes, the temperature's nearly right for Cold House to come out of its sleeve :)

I apologise. I'm being premature. There's not really enough of a frost for "Cold House".

Any idea where the sample on "The Lost You" is from?

("the same problem as usual ...")

I had it primed and ready to spin .But maybe another week or so if those tragically wrong meteorolists are to be trusted.

Great, album.

"The Cycle of Days And Seasons" sounded perfect on my autumnal walk to Sainsburys this evening. Still not frosty enough for "Cold House".

i wish these guys would get it together again for another hood album, as much as I love Declining Winter.

Forthcoming box set.

Was emailing Richard a bit a couple of weeks back, forgot to ask for further details but sounds like they're happily keeping on in their own way.

Any news on this box set?

I wonder what they could add, musically, to the two excellent compilations from some years ago.

Would be nice if (the content of) Structured Disasters became available again.

God, HOOD! It's been yeears. Wonder what happened to my copy of Silent '88? Did I let someone borrow it?

http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/albums/08-11-11/6-cd-box-set

Thanks for the link, but it does make me wonder... I mean, I have all the albums already, all the EP's and singles were fantastically compiled on Sarah's Misplaced Music some years ago. The "EP disc" only comprises of the Cold House and onwards EP's. So I have to shell out 50 quid for "The Hood Tapes" (that contains a lot of songs previously released)? If the albums were remastered that would at least be something for me to consider buying it. But like any great Hood fan, I own 95% of this already.

That sections where the drums are reversed on 'I Can't Find My Brittle Youth', wow.

I prefer the rockier, earlier stuff tbh, so this doesnt interest me so much. and yeah singles compiled is really good. the first two albums are lost classics imo.

Still no Structured Disasters! :(

It's because that wasn't on Domino but on Happy Go Lucky I think, this is a Domino only release. I love Hood to death but this seems like a useless (no pun intended) release tbh

i have the hood tapes if anyone needs it

i have everything on this but i may buy it just to get 'useless' on cd

or wait & download that one track

ah i see their 'hood tapes' has twice the songs that my cd of the same name has

'Useless' would be a reason to buy this, I agree, that song is all-time. But still, 50 quid is pretty steep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhDNLaVxosw&ob=av2e

to be fair, it does state that all the CD's are "completely remastered from the original sources".

oh ok, I didn't see that, thanks

I came to know the band through their Domino stuff, loved it, and checked out the early stuff. Which hit me so hard that I haven't had much use for the Domino stuff ever since; with the exception of some odd tracks (the Home is Where it Hurts EP is brilliant). So yeah, I'm more interested in a companion box compiling the old stuff, including leftover goodies.

These guys were involved in Remote Viewer as well, right? Was into the first RV album in college.

both the RV guys were in Hood at one point but their main other thing was Famous Boyfriend

(which imo was >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> remote viewer)

Sebastian, do you own the Singles Compiled cd's? Hood recently placed a message on their website that they found some more copies (it's been OOP for some years now) and they are indeed dead cheap, as they put it. A steal, and a mighty good one imo.

@Le Bateau Ivre: yeah, I own those two (and love them dearly). I own everything by the band, except Structured Disasters, which I think is the perfect mix of old and new Hood. Impossible to find in hard copy though. Last time I saw it on eBay it sold for way above $100.

"Adams brothers are Hood's beating heart and soul."

Of course. I did say there was comedy involved.

Old but I'd never really noticed this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHkS4obTPzY

(Tweeted by them yesterday).

oh wow.
pretty unfamiliar with both songs.
a treat to hear them both now.

More from the genius from the classic line-up:

https://boomkat.com/products/things-are-sweeter-when-they-re-lost

https://soundinsilencerecords.bandcamp.com/album/prowess

New electronica/ambient release by Richard Adams under his Western Edges moniker, it's good!

More from the *genius* from the classic line-up:

https://iikki.bandcamp.com/album/all-other-voices-gone-only-yours-remains

Forked out for the book and then some. Good stuff.

It's October and The Declining Winter have a new one out, Why Clanks. It arrived today, and it's beautiful. It's a 3" cd with a short essay called 'Why Clanks - A journey to Silsden AFC and back', written by Richard Adams, about a walk along the canal between Saltaire and Silsden. Because of course it is. Real Yorkshire.

I managed to get the very last copy of this when it went up. Looking forward to it.

Ha! I thought I natched the very last (24th iirc?) copy! :) We must have ordered in the same minute. You'll probably already have the mp3s through bandcamp, but it's a beautiful physical product too imo.

yeah, didn't download them yet. will do. It was weird, I had it in my cart on on phone for 30 minutes but couldn't log into bandcamp there for some reason to purchase. got to my computer and it said sold out. looked at phone...still in cart. deleted it from the cart in my phone and voila, there was one more available.

That is weird! For me, I paid through paypal saying there was just one copy left. Never got a confirmation email, no paypal email either. The money had left my account so I figured I'd get an email shortly saying I sort of fell through the maze and didn't manage to order it anyway. Heard nothing, until I found it in my mailbox today. It's small, but it's grand. Very much worth your while imo.

I think Richard is taking requests for a second, less fancy version. I might be wrong about this though.

gotta make a straight face to sell portraits, baby can’t you look at the camera?

Heads up, from The Declining Winter's newsletter:

Thank You / Happy Christmas

We have pay what you feel on all our digital for the next 48 hours on Bandcamp (and physical slashed for the same period) as a little Christmas gift from us to you...and also to recognise that music is expensive and can be unaffordable for many in these troubled times. Thank you for continuing to support artists by buying physical products and downloads. You won't believe the difference it makes.

https://thedecliningwinter.bandcamp.com/music

Interview with Glen Johnston about Cold House here:

https://arcane-delights.com/2020/08/16/hood-cold-house-interview-with-richard-and-chris-adams-2/

Thanks for posting that, very interesting to read - for me for the first time, at least - about their perception of the latter albums and how the band sort of naturally came to a conclusion.

Greetings, Hoodlums! The Declining Winter have a new, brilliant, record out. I say record; the physical release was lmtd to 75 tapes (and even though tapes "fit" w/ them, c'mon...) but the whole is on bandcamp. I dare say it's the best Declining Winter, the best post-Hood, record released. This is, of course, because it's reminiscent of Hood. It's like a compilation of B-sides culled from all Hood periods (ramshackle lo-fi/ramshackle hi-fi/ambient Hood/electronic "The Weight EP" Hood/ etc Hood) and it's really, really good.

https://thedecliningwinter.bandcamp.com/album/recordings-of-weird-air

Ah, crap, I saw them tease something on Instagram and forgot about it so no tape for me. Will get the digital.

Was listening to 'Cold House' the other night, it felt like That Time of Year Again.

Thanks for the tip!

They did a same day re-press so imagine they will be tempted to do more?

Most welcome, Ned! True return to form imo.

They did two re-presses already, I'm not sure there's more in the making atm. Fingers crossed!

Not my question but from Instagram, FYI:

Hi, I missed all three pressings of the tape, are you considering making more?

thedecliningwinter no but there may be a couple left over at the end. Send me an email to signalr✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧ and I’ll let you know.

That was me asking, funnily enough.

Maybe this is a rare stance but I am a big EARLY Hood fan vs. 00s+ stuff which I never really got in to. Is that weird? I dg their taste is guitar melodies against/applied to lo-fi experimental noisiness.

dig*

Not weird at all imo, though you're probably w/ the minority now. I got to know them when Silent '88 came out, and I love the hell out of the debut and the early singles (there were so many!). I just followed them after that, and I treasure all periods, three if I break it down roughly (Cabled/Silent, Rustic Houses/Cycle, and Cold House/Closer). What do you think of Rustic Houses and Cycle?

Yeah I've dug into the endless amount of EP/split/7" releases in the Cabled/Silent era. Rustic is nice if a bit gloomy iirc... you know I can't recall Cycle at all? I'll check that out again soon. Very turned off by the Dose One & Why? cameos on the Cold House LP. I don't think that nasal rapping style has aged well since its height in the early 00s.

If you think Rustic is gloomy, well, you're in for a treat with Cycle lol. I trust you picked up the Compilations/Singles Compiled cd's? They have nearly all of the early days.

I wasn't put off by the Cold House cameos. I vividly remember buying the lp's of both Cold House and Notwist's 'Neon Golden' on the same day, and they became sort of twin records for me because of that. Dose One and Why? on Cold House seemed completely of its time, for me. But I totally get it's not everyone's cup of tea. (I already dug cLOUDDEAD tbf)

Hey I'm not apposed to gloomy! Just a memory of it being particularly that. But noted!

Looks like I effectively have checked out that comp in the sense that I've come across a lot of the releases themselves. Probably missed a bit of it.

Yeah I like some of that too. Why?'s Elephant Eyelash had some tunes. But overall the style has not aged well for me.

Cycle is my favourite!

Mine too! Well, along with a couple of others :) If I *have* to choose I pick 'Rustic Houses', but 'Cycle' is fantastic. I've to be cautious listening to it though, teh sadness hits hard.

this year it hit so hard

oh so it’s “this year has been so hard” ok

Not strictly Hood but related (via Craig Tattersall)

https://iikki.bandcamp.com/album/flowers-bloom-butterflies-come

I managed to get the new Declining Winter on tape. I agree that it is very good.

Some Downpour (Chris) on tape:

https://downpour2.bandcamp.com/album/do-you-remember-when-it-was-all-about-the-drums-parts-i-ii-re-mastered-with-bonus-track

And now at last properly on Bandcamp

https://hoodband.bandcamp.com/

They've seemed to be alluding to some *other news*, haven't they?

I thought it was just more stuff from the catalogue coming... but what I would give for Chris & Rich getting back together as Hood!
Bring whoever they like along, just do it!

That said, any new Bracken, or another Downpour EP would do it too.

October, rain, chill on the wind = The Cycle of Days and Seasons. It's like a summons.

Missed (mist? xp) both presses of this.

Shame, this is nice.

https://thedecliningwinter.bandcamp.com/track/i-remember

Chris did a record with a Philly musician under the name ROCK which is excellent in case anyone missed it. Tape is well sold out but digital is on Bandcamp

Related:

https://newnorthwales.bandcamp.com/album/minor-birds

There's one vinyl copy of I Remember on Bandcamp, btw.

Oddly enough was chatting with Richard the other day; from the sound of it the two earliest Hood albums may get a reissue in the near future. More Declining Winter en route.