(sometimes we’re inundated with questions from hungry fans but usually we’re not. here’s a list of some of the most common queries alongside the answers that go with them)

who?
a leeds (formerly wetherby), UK based band formed in december 1990. they have released 9 albums and 17 singles since the early 90's on a variety of different labels

why?
no-one seems to be able to come up with a reason for the bands existence. "small town boredom" is the usual reason given.

why hood?
again no explanation has been given for the name. members of the band tend to become twitchy in interview if the question ever comes up

hood live jpgwhat do they sound like?
not an easy one to answer. the band defies categorization often switching sounds/styles at the drop of a hat. but to help you out they have been compared in the past to some or all of the following artists:- pavement, my bloody valentine, talk, talk, the fall, radiohead, bark psychosis, disco inferno, the go-betweens, the chills, mogwai, arab strap, aphex twin, boards of canada, the notwist, new order, dntel, take that, the smiths, this kind of punishment,bedhead, crabstick, flying saucer attack, jandek, movietone, ar kane, seefeel, boyracer and s.n.d

i want to buy a hood record where should i start?
the albums are very varied and so quite often one album won't give you an impression of their variety of sound. 'cold house' is the most critically praised and most successful. 'compilations 1995-2002' contains the most wide variety of sound and is a good 'sampler' for the beginner. the general rules are as follows:-

lo fidelity avant pop, lots of short to mid length songs - wild experimental production. hints of pavement, new zealand bands and aphex twin. 'structured disasters' is a compilation of singles and rare tracks.

longer drawn out songs. pastoral, nearly instrumental. often compared to talk talk, bark psychosis, mogwai. both produced or co-produced by matt elliot of third eye foundation

shorter songs, much more electronic sounding, better production, still experimental but with more pop moments. 'cold house' delves into hip hop territories and features dose one and why? from US rapper cLOUDDEAD. 'home is where it hurts' is a mini lp

simulataneously released round ups of the bands unavailable work. 'singles compiled' is older noisier scratchy material and shows the bands development. 'compilations 1995-2002' is the more settled collection although the music veers wildly it is more like a studio album. it shows off a lot of excellent 'rustic/cycle' era songs

the latest album is brighter and bolder than 'cold house' but often with a warmer, more pastoral organic feel. the electronics are more subtle and the album is generally more song based, with lots of strings and natural tones- a few tracks delve back into the looser feel of the mid period albums though the singles are resolutely concise and upbeat. the album was sandwiched by two EP's - 'the lost you' and 'the negatives' both of which contain essential non album b sides

 

where can i buy these records?
the domino records albums ('rustic houses' onwards) should be widely available - any record store should have them or be able to order them although 'cycle of days and seasons' didn't get a US release. they do, however, tend to drift in and out of print and vinyl is difficult to track these days. the other releases can be more difficult. check our shop page for where to buy.

can i contact the band?
yes, email is the best medium – hood@hoodmusic.net

do they play live?
yes but not much. they usually do about 10-20 shows a year though they did loads in 2002 including tours of USA and Europe. hood have however toured with bands such as Low, cLOUDDEAD, Mogwai and Do Make Say Think.

who do i contact to book a hood show?
please note that the band is not touring in 2007. for uk shows contact the band direct: hood@hoodmusic.net. european booking agent: Andreas Oberschelp www.puschen.net... north america booking agent: Christian Bernhardt christian@korkagency.com.

who is in the band?
well, it keeps on changing. founding members richard and christopher adams are always involved, drummer/cellist stephen royle was a long term fixture but left in 2005. mark wright joined the band in 2005 for live shows, gareth s brown is usually about somewhere whilst past members include matt robson, john clyde evans, ross parfitt, andrew johnson, craig tattersall, matthew allison, laura bridge, stewart anderson, ruth anderson..... bored yet?

no carry on....
and then theres the collaborators - dose and why (clouddead), matt elliot (third eye foundation), nicola hodgkinson (empress), sarah mcwatt (mcwatt), richard formby (Spectrum) to name just a few

side projects?
yep loads, hood members have been active in a slew of bands including - downpour, famous boyfriend, cosine, mike nichols and his excellency, halkyn, the unpleasants, john clyde evans. former members exist in the following bands - boyracer, remote viewer, random number and kicker. more recently hood members have been active in several outside projects namely bracken, gareth s brown, the declining winter and maggie 8.

the band has also been involved to some degree in running labels (555, misplaced music), fanzines (open your eyes, brainchild) and club nights (echolalia, freedom sounds in pub)

is misplaced music hood’s label?
no, it is the label run by sara who administers the hood site, although richard helps out with some of the day to day running of the label

where can I get lyrics?
the harsh truth is that you can’t. the band prefers to keep its lyrics under wraps and there's no sign of this changing anytime soon though if you search the forums hard enough you can find fans interpretations.

where can I get high resolution photos of the band?
why, here my good friend

how did a bunch of no-hopers like hood link up with San Francisco avant rap genius’ clouddead?
by the wonders of the modern postal system – cLOUDEAD sent hood their music - hood liked it struck up an international friendship and a series of collaborations naturally followed.

what are Hood up to now?
taking an extended break as in richard's words 'hood was such a part of us all that if we'd carried on we would have ended up like rod hull and emu'. therefore chris adams has just put an album out on anticon under the 'bracken' moniker, gareth s brown has launched his debut cd 'iron henry' on misplaced music and richard adams is working on an on/off project called the declining winter. there are no plans for hood touring or recording in 2007 though something in 2008 has not been ruled out.

i have a question that isn't on here what should i do?
email hood@hoodmusic.net and we'll endeavour to get you a reply

there's a problem with the website, whom should i contact?
sara@hoodmusic.net