Hood - 'The Lost You EP' (Domino)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
They don't come that much more difficult to pin down than Hood. For some, the perplexities to 'The Lost You' might come across as confused, unfocused, annoying even. At times, this little five-tracker is all of those. But thankfully, a lot of it is curiously fascinating too.
The opening title-track itself skips from brash, tinny cymbals and ever so slightly heated, layered vocals to spacious, grandiose sections of noise, as if condensing the rest of the record into the first four and a half minutes - an abridged version, if you will. Like many things about the release, it's cute, but ultimately doesn't show this odd little collective at their best.
A brazen Hood is all well and good (if a little derivative), but an introspective, tranquil one is even more intriguing, and all the more unique. Sometimes, the lethargic attitude is coupled with swooning melodies, as on 'You Can't Breathe Memories', but even more pleasing is the properly drawn-out, lengthy build-up kind of Hood, as on an ace closing 'Over The Land Over The Sea'. It's a dabble in electronica, with vocals garbled beyond recognition, wails, plinking god-knows-whats, and should by rights be utterly boring but instead manages to be just a bit splendid.
Reversing trends, Hood use their loud moments to make the quiet ones all the more majestic. What a shame more don't follow suit.
Artists in this article: Hood
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