When Hood released Cold House in 2001, I’m sure it took some of their listeners by surprise.  Previous Hood albums such as such as The Cycle of Days & Seasons and Rustic Houses, Forlorn Valleys possessed a meandering, folk-inflected take on ambient post-rock that referenced Bark Psychosis, Flying Saucer Attack, Talk Talk, and Disco Inferno.  Cold House, however, eschewed much of that, replacing and augmenting Hood’s characteristic bent and nostalgic sound with icily glitchy electronics, programming, and skewed hip-hop vocals courtesy of cLOUDDEAD’s Doseone and Why?.

The change actually worked for the most part, and Cold House is an album that I find myself returning to—especially during the winter months, when Cold House‘s chillier electronic aspects are perfectly suited to the ice-covered trees, slate-grey skies, and knife-like winds.

Hood’s last full-length, 2005’s Outside Closer, pulled back on the electronics a bit, a struck a better balance between Hood’s “new” and “old” sounds.  However, listening to We Know About The Need, the debut full-length from Bracken, (aka Chris Adams, who forms the core of Hood with his brother Richard), its obvious that someone’s curiosity was piqued way back in 2001, and even earlier.

Continue reading…