"Outside Closer," Hood | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

"Outside Closer," Hood

With their last album "Cold House," this Leeds U.K. 4-piece successfully combined experimental hip-hop and rain drenched guitar laden Brit-pop into an innovative and beautiful whole- this was with the help of cLOUDDEAD's Dose One and why?, of course. Hood's latest musical adventure is less experimentation and more straight forward indie-pop from start to finish- think of a primal Radiohead or The Church for reference. The glitchy electronic accents are there, as are the strange vocal treatments, although these are more integrated into the poppish veneer than on their previous outings. This release has more urgency, more catharsis than any other Hood release to date and, as such, is a contender for the best of 2005! Yet another spellbinding release from Domino Records [U.K.]. --Alex Slawson & Herman Snell

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