
It has been a quiet period by Hood's normally prolific standards but time has clearly done little to diminish the miserablist and eclectic qualities of the Yorkshire band. The title track to 'The Lost You' EP leads off with some wonderful off-kilter harmonies - featuring a Robert Wyatt sample - and those familiar rustic guitar patterns that are now their own trademark. The third song 'The Rest Of Us Still Care' actually surpasses it; here the guitar melodies are gorgeous, meandering in all kinds of directions and when the vocals kick in just past the two-minute mark, the effect is stunningly hypnotic. In this company the three other (predominately-instrumental) tracks suffer a little but they prove that they can still provide fine ambient accompaniment for the coldest of the seasons. With an album to follow very soon in 2005, this serves as a great taster which serves to whet the appetite for more.