Back to the Woodlands

Confined by polio to a wheelchair, Hood made some remarkable recordings in the Seventies that for a kind of skeleton key to the vast world of “New Age” that has slowly been rediscovered and rehabilitated in the new millennium by reissue labels. Using synth, zither, flute, and a very bold sense of field recordings and street noise, Hood creates a genuinely loving and peaceful world of his own. Also of note—he was a gifted engineer, and most of this sounds like it was recorded yesterday.

Ernest Hood’s 1975 album Neighborhoods is a delightful curio among the decade’s many innovative ambient records – a homespun mix of bright synthesizers, zither and field recordings of suburban Oregon life. For decades it was thought to be the only major work from Hood, a jazz guitarist who after contracting polio could no longer hold his instrument so switched to the zither. Yet in 2022 a decade’s worth of unreleased material was unearthed and released. Back To The Woodlands might not have Neighborhoods’ kooky charm, but if anything it holds together as a more satisfying listen. The sound of crickets ushers in opening track, Noonday Yellows, before Hood’s zither brushes gently against harp and recorder, and throughout these songs beautifully weave together delicate stringed instruments and recordings from nature (running streams, the wind through the leaves, the sound of rain falling). As uplifting and soul-cleansing as a long hike on a Spring day.