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.
S.E. rain patterns
Hood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A forgotten world (?)
Cinematic, silent skies
Resident, silent
Forget the dreams you had
The times that you felt lost
As relentless rain (?) skylines
Forgotten world
It makes you feel gray
It's all too late
Feeling gray because (?)
Violent city sky
Because there's violence here
Forget the dreams you had
The times that you felt gray
The Hood song S.E. Rain Patterns is a reflection on the despondency and bleakness that result from residing in an urban locale marked by an incessant downpour. The track opens with the lyrics; "Staring at sympathetic skies, A forgotten world(?), Cinematic, silent skies, Resident, silent." These lyrics express a feeling of despair and hopelessness as the singer stares at the sky which has become almost like an antagonist. The sky is not only apathetic but also evokes a forgotten and lost world. The word "cinematic" highlights the surreal and gloomy feeling that the sky emotes.
In the subsequent verses, the lyrics "Forget the dreams you had, The times that you felt lost," suggest a sense of despair that comes with living in such a place. The singer reminds themselves that they need to forget any aspirations they might have had because it's all too late. They are aware that the violent city skies and the relentless rain that blots out the skylines have made them feel gray. The lyrics "Because there's violence here, Forget the dreams you had, The times that you felt gray" highlights the fact that this urban landscape is inhospitable and has robbed the singer of their hopes.
In conclusion, the lyrics of S.E. Rain Patterns paint a picture of urban decay and hopelessness. The singer has given up on their dreams because of the relentless rain and violent environment. The gray sky that stretches across the horizon is only a reminder of their bleak situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Staring at sympathetic skies
Gazing at the sky with empathy
A forgotten world (?)
The world seems to be forgotten or unimportant to the singer
Cinematic, silent skies
The sky is like a movie set and is quiet
Resident, silent
The artist is a resident and it is quiet
Forget the dreams you had
Do not remember the aspirations once had
The times that you felt lost
The moment when the singer felt unsure
Lost and windy (?)
The location is remote and there is a wind blowing
As relentless rain (?) skylines
The constant rain is hiding the skyline
Forgotten world
The world seems to be forgotten or unimportant to the artist
It makes you feel gray
The situation makes the artist feel gloomy
It's all too late
It is too late to change anything
Feeling gray because (?)
The artist feels gloomy for some reason
Violent city sky
The city sky seems violent
Because there's violence here
There is violence in the location
Forget the dreams you had
Do not remember the aspirations once had
The times that you felt gray
The moment when the artist felt gloomy
Contributed by Jackson R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.