Hood are an experimental band from Leeds, UK formed in December 1990. The c… Read Full Bio ↴Hood are an experimental band from Leeds, UK formed in December 1990. The core of the band features brothers Richard and Chris Adams, joined by various different friends over the years. With influences from New Zealand's Flying Nun label and Aphex Twin, and stylistic similarities to The Cure, Mogwai, My Bloody Valentine, Pavement and Boards of Canada, their style of music often changes from ambient rock, to glitch to shoegaze.

Their first releases were very limited vinyl singles on various different small, indie, and some now defunct, record labels, although 555 records who released '(The) Weight' in 1998 is still alive.

In 1994, record labels Fluff and Slumberland released Hood's first full length album, entitled 'Cabled Linear Traction'. It was a landmark for the band, some still say it's their best album. It had similarities to bands like The Cure, Sonic Youth and Pavement.

The album was issued on CD in 1999 by Slumberland, who also released 1996's 'Silent 88' album. The latter was similar sounding to 'CLT', but with much more experimentation going on and far more use of electronics.

A collection of limited and rare singles was put together by Happy Go Lucky records in 1997 and released on CD and vinyl, the vinyl version coming with a free 7" record.

In 1997, Domino Record Co snapped up Hood and released the single 'Useless'. A lo-fi indie electronica affair, not too dissimilar to the aforementioned '(The) Weight' released the next year.

Around this time Chris was releasing instrumental electronic material as Downpour, often involving heavily distorted drum and bass.

After another handful of singles and eps for Domino, they released the album 'Rustic Houses, Forlorn Valleys' in 1998. A dense, dark and tension building album, sounding somewhere in between Labradford, Mogwai and Massive Attack and produced by the band and Matt Elliott from Third Eye Foundation.

A year later came 'The Cycle of Days and Seasons', once again produced by Matt Elliott. With an ever changing line up still revolving around the two brothers, the sound of the band changed yet again, moving further into indie electronics.

Colaborating with friends Doseone and Why? from the Anticon collective came Hoods 5th studio album 'Cold House' in 2001, their most well known and collectively appreciated ablum. It contained elements of Post Rock, IDM, Indie as well as Doseone and Why?'s voice and lyric talents. Features the single 'You Show No Emotion At All'. Released on Domino.

In early 2005, Hood released 'Outside Closer', an emotional journey through ambience and hip hop beats. More line up changes occured, meaning this album was yet again different to the previous. Taking influence from The Remote Viewer, Prefuse 73 and Empress (the singer of which appears on the album). The tracks 'The Lost You' and 'The Negatives' were released as singles, featuring b-sides and videos for the tracks.

Since the release of 'Outside Closer' Hood have toured with Why? promoting his new album 'Elephant Eyelash' and released various remixes.

During 2006, Gareth S Brown, who played in the aforementioned tour, has been working on a solo album, due for release in November on Richard's girlfriend's label Misplaced Pets.

Currently due for release on record label anticon, is a solo album from Hood lead singer Chris Adams under the name of Bracken. The lead single from the album, titled 'Heathens', is due out in November, the album, titled 'We Know About the Need' follows in January.

In 2007 Richard Adams formed a side project The Declining Winter which has spawned a 7" The Future Sound of Hip Hop parts 1 and 2 and an album Goodbye Minnesota.

There are no plans for any further Hood releases.

Diesel Pioneers
Hood Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Years disperse us
with nothing
with nothing

Raining thoughts on (?)
Years disperse us
you'd said otherwise
you'd said where's the time

Raining thoughts on (?)
you'd said I don't mind
you'd said I don't mind

(You said)
I don't know where the hours go,
why couldn't you end it all?
But you just can't leave things alone.
(You said)
I don't know where the hours go,
but you're going to end it all?
But you just can't leave things alone.
(I don't)
She said that I want to go
Oh, I want to end it all
But I just didn't have the nerve
(I don't)
I just want to end it all
but I couldn't end it all
Oh, I just can't leave things alone

(You said)
Where have all the hours gone?
Why couldn't you end it all?
Why can't you just leave things alone?
(I don't)
I don't want to end all
I just want to think about
I just want to think things through

(I don't)
(I don't)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Hood's song "Diesel Pioneers" explore themes of isolation, confusion, and a desire for escape from reality. The first stanza sets the stage with the repetition of "Years disperse us" followed by "with nothing." This phrase sets a tone of hopelessness and suggests that time is passing without any meaningful progress or change. The next line, "Raining thoughts on (?)" is open to interpretation, but it could be a metaphor for thoughts that are heavy and persistent, weighing the singer down. In this context, rain can indicate sadness or depression - the thoughts are falling on them like rain.

The second stanza introduces a conversation with an unknown person who "said otherwise" about the passing of time. The singer seems to be struggling with the concept of time and the idea that it slips away without any control. The repetition of "I don't mind" suggests resignation - the singer is aware of their lack of control but has accepted it. The next line, "You said I don't know where the hours go" echoes the singer's own thoughts about time passing. The next few lines touch on the idea of ending it all. The repetition of "But you just can't leave things alone" suggests that the singer may be grappling with suicidal thoughts or ideation. The final stanza further explores this idea, with a woman expressing a desire to end her life but lacking the courage to do so. The song ends on a somewhat ambiguous note, with the singer expressing a desire to simply think things through rather than end it all.

Overall, "Diesel Pioneers" is a haunting exploration of loneliness, hopelessness, and despair. The repetition of certain phrases, particularly "Years disperse us" and "I don't mind" create a sense of cyclical repetition and resignation. The references to suicide and the desire to escape reality add another layer of darkness to the song's themes.

Line by Line Meaning

Years disperse us with nothing with nothing
Time separates us with nothing to show for it.

Raining thoughts on (?) Years disperse us you'd said otherwise you'd said where's the time
You had expressed frustration with the passage of time and the fact that it separates us, but at other times you had a different perspective.

Raining thoughts on (?) you'd said I don't mind you'd said I don't mind
At times, you didn't seem bothered by the fact that time was slipping away from us.

(You said) I don't know where the hours go, why couldn't you end it all? But you just can't leave things alone.
You questioned where the time was going, but also seemed to have a reluctance to let go of things when necessary.

(You said) I don't know where the hours go, but you're going to end it all? But you just can't leave things alone.
You were unsure of where time was going, but also wondered if the end was near, yet you still found it hard to let go.

(I don't) She said that I want to go Oh, I want to end it all But I just didn't have the nerve (I don't)
The singer had thoughts of ending it all, but lacked the courage to follow through with those thoughts.

I just want to end it all but I couldn't end it all Oh, I just can't leave things alone
The singer still struggles with dark thoughts, but finds it hard to let go of things that hold onto them.

(You said) Where have all the hours gone? Why couldn't you end it all? Why can't you just leave things alone? (I don't)
You continued to question where time was disappearing to and why it was hard to let go, while the artist still grapples with dark thoughts and the inability to move on.

(I don't) I don't want to end all I just want to think about I just want to think things through (I don't)
The artist doesn't want to end it all, but rather wants to take time to process and think through things.

(I don't)
The artist continues to grapple with these dark thoughts and struggles.

Contributed by Savannah B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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