"Hoopy Frood are most definitely for you!"
In twenty years of existence, Hoopy Frood have reached their fourth studio production. Around singer Myshell Higgins, we find Steve Varman on guitar and keyboards, Rich Walgate on bass and guitar, Ruari Hignell on percussion, Adam Hampton on percussion and flute, and Andy Aust on drums.
Listening to Mostly Harmless – whose cover art recalls the paintings of Edward Hopper – is to step into a distinctive and captivating world. On Already Home, Myshell Higgins’ voice is tender and enveloping, the music’s swirls wrapping around her through a blend of electronic textures and gentle touches of guitar and flute.
One might think of Ozric Tentacles, with whom they’ve toured, though Hoopy Frood’s sound is even more ethereal; or OSI, but in a sunnier vein. As you’ve gathered, it’s rather difficult to pin down the band’s style, which they themselves describe as “psy[ghedelic]-groove-electro-rock.”
They set no boundaries for themselves – witness the reggae-infused Chocolate Factory and You Are Love, among others. The group openly cite the influence of Ott, the British dub producer and musician. Yet one could also mention the world-music collages present in certain tracks, or the Santana-like percussion.
What’s certain is that discovering Mostly Harmless holds plenty of surprises. The warmth of its atmospheres, the diversity of its arrangements, and the melodic focus throughout all guarantee genuine pleasure – including on more radio-friendly pieces such as The River, which, beneath its pop-rock surface, carries shades of Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd. The guitars, for their part, deliver consistently inspired performances from start to finish.
There’s even a fully instrumental track, Waiting Room, with a distinctly space-rock feel. In some respects, it’s tempting to compare the members of Hoopy Frood to tightrope walkers, charting their path in perfect balance – as sophisticated as they are festive.
This sense of freedom, this refusal to be boxed in, makes Hoopy Frood spiritual heirs to the early Gong albums – those featuring Steve Hillage, who would go on to become a techno pioneer with System 7.
Never heavy-going, Mostly Harmless is a refreshing and inventive album — one of those rare records where prog steps out of its comfort zone to mingle with a kind of musical cosmopolitanism. If you’re craving a change of scenery and the thrill of the unexpected, Hoopy Frood are most definitely for you!
- Jean-Guillaume LANUQUE
"...mind-altering substances..."
Hoopy Frood are an interesting band, formed in the UK in 2004, with an eclectic range of influences from psych, electronica, pop, prog, and reggae. I played The River from their fourth studio album Mostly Harmless (a reference, of course, to the legendary Douglas Adams) on my radio show of 2nd August. The album was released the day before, and you can get a copy by hooping along to https://hoopyfrood.bandcamp.com/album/mostly-harmless
The band are Steve Varman (Guitars, Synths); Rich Walgate (Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Bits & Pieces); Myshell Higgins (Vocal); Ruari Hignell (Percussion); Adam Hampton (Percussion, Flute); Andy Aust (Drums); and Chris JD Read (Acoustic guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals).
Ten tracks on here to delightfully digest and dissect.
We start with Already Home, the keys and flutes combined with the rich female voice providing for that wonderful sense of anticipation that you are about to listen to something very special, a glorious mix of electronica, chill dance, psych, the sounds and mood swirling around in your head, a definite sense of the ability to draw the listener in, and we are treated to a pared back Gilmouresque guitar solo in there, a relentlessly understated rhythm section underpinning it all. It is embedded at the foot of the page; the finest trance rock track I have had the pleasure of listening to in quite some time.
Chocolate Factory can be interpreted in several ways, including an ode to popular sweets such as M&Ms, or, of course, the type of mind-altering substances probably more prevalent today than at any time in recent popular culture, riding and rising above your self into that stream of consciousness taking you away from corporeal into the ethereal. There is a distinct Floyd influence from the outset on this, combined with modern electronic sensibilities and a funk infused sense of rhythm. I imagine lying on a Jamaican beach with this washing all over me, and we get the first glimpse of how strong Higgins is singing words as well as her chanting. Walgate provides us with a wonderful revolving bass riff, and there are some brass effects in here.
The River is fascinating lyrically, an analogy for the journey of life, swimming with the tide, for your life, for your love, knowing where you want to go and realising that dream. The mandolin from Read is evocative, the acoustic guitar rich, and this a track which has a commercial feel to it, the vocals entreating you to swim with Higgins, her ability to persuade you to follow her on the journey indicative of a special talent. There are some cracking riffs on this, guitars, bass, and drums combining to produce a stonking noise as we move into the closing segment. It is embedded below.
You Are Love is a good, old-fashioned entreaty to be yourself, to be free, and to love. We could do with more of it in the present gloom dominated media landscape that’s for sure. We can set ourselves free if we concentrate hard on the positives and what really matters. At the start, you are again transported to that beach, the sun scorching down on you, the spirit of Marley strong with a very strong partly sampled guitar solo. Be strong, be free. Probably my favourite feelgood track of 2025.
Shine has a video which is embedded below. It is the radio edit. A bright song full of energy, mutual satisfaction in body and soul, some fine organ and guitar work here.
Chasing the Sun follows, lyrically reaching out for the sun a la Anderson. Funky, trancey, full of energy, a modern fusion of beat and electronica with classic rock sensibilities in the form of a fine guitar riff.
Dream Your Life returns to that theme of living your best effort, dreaming and realising the outcome. Pulsating energy, a collective striving for the perfect pitch, the vocals so dreamy, some fine percussion and the brass effects having a strong impact. Varman’s guitar solo again has some fine fretwork, powerful riffs.
Waiting Room is an instrumental which I think could be considered as a natural modern successor to the experimental track of the same name which adorned The Lamb and has some darkly complex innovative jazzy impulsiveness.
Nothing is a paeon to a free mind, open to possibilities, not chained by preconceptions, the experimental sounds together with a more traditional rock guitar perfectly reflecting this, very catchy and ultimately uplifting, a state of mind put to music.
We close with Give, the truism that the more we give and love, the more we receive from the universe. It has a delightful African and mid-eastern vibe, the percussion especially effective, the flute deep and beguiling, the voice dancing with your head.
Mostly Harmless is not typical of the bulk of the music featured on this website, and I think that could also be applied to their media representatives, the peerless Bad Dog Promotions, and this is, naturally, a strong positive. I doubt that many of you reading this and listening to what I have played will have played too much like it in recent times, but the whole album leaves me in a very positive state of mind, with some hope for the future, because this album and the sentiments embedded within it speak far more powerfully than the doom laden, miserabilist narrative we seem stuck with.
Recommended for you to check out.
- Lazland
"Mostly Harmless is not typical of the bulk of the music..."
Hoopy Frood are an interesting band, formed in the UK in 2004, with an eclectic range of influences from psych, electronica, pop, prog, and reggae. I played The River from their fourth studio album Mostly Harmless (a reference, of course, to the legendary Douglas Adams) on my radio show of 2nd August. The album was released the day before, and you can get a copy by hooping along to https://hoopyfrood.bandcamp.com/album/mostly-harmless
The band are Steve Varman (Guitars, Synths); Rich Walgate (Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Bits & Pieces); Myshell Higgins (Vocal); Ruari Hignell (Percussion); Adam Hampton (Percussion, Flute); Andy Aust (Drums); and Chris JD Read (Acoustic guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals).
Ten tracks on here to delightfully digest and dissect.
We start with Already Home, the keys and flutes combined with the rich female voice providing for that wonderful sense of anticipation that you are about to listen to something very special, a glorious mix of electronica, chill dance, psych, the sounds and mood swirling around in your head, a definite sense of the ability to draw the listener in, and we are treated to a pared back Gilmouresque guitar solo in there, a relentlessly understated rhythm section underpinning it all. It is embedded at the foot of the page; the finest trance rock track I have had the pleasure of listening to in quite some time.
Chocolate Factory can be interpreted in several ways, including an ode to popular sweets such as M&Ms, or, of course, the type of mind-altering substances probably more prevalent today than at any time in recent popular culture, riding and rising above your self into that stream of consciousness taking you away from corporeal into the ethereal. There is a distinct Floyd influence from the outset on this, combined with modern electronic sensibilities and a funk infused sense of rhythm. I imagine lying on a Jamaican beach with this washing all over me, and we get the first glimpse of how strong Higgins is singing words as well as her chanting. Walgate provides us with a wonderful revolving bass riff, and there are some brass effects in here.
The River is fascinating lyrically, an analogy for the journey of life, swimming with the tide, for your life, for your love, knowing where you want to go and realising that dream. The mandolin from Read is evocative, the acoustic guitar rich, and this a track which has a commercial feel to it, the vocals entreating you to swim with Higgins, her ability to persuade you to follow her on the journey indicative of a special talent. There are some cracking riffs on this, guitars, bass, and drums combining to produce a stonking noise as we move into the closing segment. It is embedded below.
[See here]
You Are Love is a good, old-fashioned entreaty to be yourself, to be free, and to love. We could do with more of it in the present gloom dominated media landscape that’s for sure. We can set ourselves free if we concentrate hard on the positives and what really matters. At the start, you are again transported to that beach, the sun scorching down on you, the spirit of Marley strong with a very strong partly sampled guitar solo. Be strong, be free. Probably my favourite feelgood track of 2025.
Shine has a video which is embedded below. It is the radio edit. A bright song full of energy, mutual satisfaction in body and soul, some fine organ and guitar work here.
Chasing the Sun follows, lyrically reaching out for the sun a la Anderson. Funky, trancey, full of energy, a modern fusion of beat and electronica with classic rock sensibilities in the form of a fine guitar riff.
Dream Your Life returns to that theme of living your best effort, dreaming and realising the outcome. Pulsating energy, a collective striving for the perfect pitch, the vocals so dreamy, some fine percussion and the brass effects having a strong impact. Varman’s guitar solo again has some fine fretwork, powerful riffs.
Waiting Room is an instrumental which I think could be considered as a natural modern successor to the experimental track of the same name which adorned The Lamb and has some darkly complex innovative jazzy impulsiveness.
Nothing is a paeon to a free mind, open to possibilities, not chained by preconceptions, the experimental sounds together with a more traditional rock guitar perfectly reflecting this, very catchy and ultimately uplifting, a state of mind put to music.
We close with Give, the truism that the more we give and love, the more we receive from the universe. It has a delightful African and mid-eastern vibe, the percussion especially effective, the flute deep and beguiling, the voice dancing with your head.
Mostly Harmless is not typical of the bulk of the music featured on this website, and I think that could also be applied to their media representatives, the peerless Bad Dog Promotions, and this is, naturally, a strong positive. I doubt that many of you reading this and listening to what I have played will have played too much like it in recent times, but the whole album leaves me in a very positive state of mind, with some hope for the future, because this album and the sentiments embedded within it speak far more powerfully than the doom laden, miserabilist narrative we seem stuck with.
Recommended for you to check out.
- Lazland
"...hazy electro-progressive spacey musings..."
To be filed under the “Well, that’s something else altogether” section of your music library: Mostly Harmless, the brand-new album from the English musical collective Hoopy Frood! Not easy, for a heavy-metal worker such as yours truly, to describe an album as unusual as this one. To simplify things for us, probably, Bad Dog Promotion has stuck the label “Electronic/Progressive Rock” on it; a name as good as any other, even if, personally, we feel like adding the terms Reggae, Dub, Trip Hop, and Psychedelic to the sonic assortment on offer.
Based in Reading, in the south of the UK, Hoopy Frood is a septet with a rather unusual origin: it formed after the release of its debut album Psychonaut in 2004. Initially started as a studio project, Hoopy Frood received an irresistible offer to open for Ozric Tentacles. To make that possible, a “live” lineup, made up of close friends, was hastily assembled. Against all odds, it endured and even evolved over the years and albums (Editor’s note: the band now has four to its name).
According to the promotional material, Hoopy Frood tried to recapture the carefree vibe that had marked the creation of its debut album when tackling the writing of Mostly Harmless. To achieve this, they revisited old jams, added new ideas, and focused on fun and experimentation without worrying too much about the end result. The fruit of this process is delivered to us as a magical and eclectic work where the smoky atmospheres of Psychedelic Rock and Reggae blend with electronic experiments and surprising progressive constructions.
It’s not unusual to hear hypnotic rhythms inspired by the spellbinding work of Bob Marley, guitar solos recalling the magical touch of David Gilmour, and hazy electro-progressive spacey musings evoking the distinctive style of Britain’s Ozric Tentacles. Add to this the silky, dreamy voice of Myshell Higgins, which works wonders on both ambient/prog tracks and psychedelic reggae burners, and you’ll understand why, in our hazy minds, Mostly Harmless is already sharing the title of Coolest Album of the Year—alongside the self-titled record from Polish psychedelic rockers Atom Juice.
Mostly Harmless was self-released on August 1st. If our review has intrigued you and you decide to check it out via its dedicated Bandcamp page, get your online payment method ready—because trying it is definitely adopting it!
"Hoopy Frood has returned with a new album"
Hoopy Frood, a UK band, has returned with a new album, Mostly Harmless, which was released on August 8th, of this year. The band has released three other albums to this date: Psychonaut, (2004), Indigo, (2009), and Affirmations, (2021). The name might confuse you, so let us get that out the way immediately. “Hoopy frood” is a phrase from Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” series, where “hoopy” means a “really together guy” and “frood” means a “really amazingly together guy”.
The band is made up of members: Steve Varman, on guitars and synths; Rich Walgate, on bass, acoustic guitar, and other bits and pieces; Myshell Higgins, on vocals; Ruari Hignell, on percussion; Adam Hampton, on percussion and flute; Andy Aust, on drums; and Chris JD Read, on acoustic guitar, mandolin, and backing vocals.
The band was formed, according to their press release, “in the wake of their debut album Psychonaut, in 2004. They found themselves on stage quickly the next year with Ozric Tentacles, in the summer of 2005; despite not having a live band before that point. In fact, the band was thrown together with close friends just for that performance. The show was a resounding success, and since then, Hoopy Frood has been writing, performing, and evolving together for twenty years.”
They go on to say, “The sound of Hoopy Frood was shaped by a wide range of influences, from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Free, to Ozric Tentacles, Björk, Bob Marley, and Fleetwood Mac. But it was one hot, trippy summer day in 2003 when band members Steve and Rich discovered the music of Ott and Shpongle. Previously indifferent to electronic music, they were immediately captivated. Inspired, they bought a cheap PC, a copy of “Reason,” and began learning how to create the ethereal, mind-bending sounds they’d fallen in love with. The result? A unique blend of influences—from classic rock to psychedelic electronica – all infused with the spirit and creativity of the band.”
Wait, there is more: “Rich Walgate sent the track “Chasing Inspiration,” to Ott, not expecting a response. To their surprise, Ott replied within hours, expressing interest in mixing the track. Ott went on to mix and co-produce the entire album, helping to craft a lush, thought-provoking sound that was warmly received by both fans and new listeners worldwide.”
Hoopy Frood kick off this all-star attraction with the song, “Already Home.” It is an instrumental track that starts off slow with low keyboards and exquisite flute notes. Then, Myshell Higgins sings, Already home, after some soft vocalizations. She sounds like she may have a background singer, or she may have done the backing vocalizations herself. The guitar playing, bass, drums, and percussion set an ethereal soundscape from which to launch your first encounter with Hoopy Frood. The use of flute is such an elegant way to open this soundscape, and you will be happy they chose that method. Thank you Hoopy Frood, for over 6 minutes of pure bliss. What a way to open an album.Chocolate Factory, is a reggae and rap filled journey through an imaginary “Charlie’s Chocolate Factory,” complete with horns, flute, percussion and more. Now imagine that…nice huh? Just what you wanted, something different. And this album is gonna be full of it. So nice to hear innovation and dynamic sounds in the progressive genre. So many great lyrics but Myshell leaves you with the best, “I got dancing. Get you grooving in your stride ones. Come with me, taste and see. Rise on the wind and you’re never coming down.” For sure! Welcome to the world of Hoopy Frood. Aren’t you glad you came? I am.
The River, opens with cool keyboards and then what sound like harp, before the drums, percussion, and guitar take off, on down the river. Myshell sings, “Swim downstream, swim with me. Swim for your life. Swim to the sea. Follow your heart and jump into the blue.” Why wouldn’t you? Simply entrancing rhythms and music progressive rock that the world has been waiting for and needing. The kind of music and songs that just draw you in with their variance. Yes, Myshell sings the key narrative, “The water around you, is the land of the free.”You Are Love, opens with that cool reggae beat, complete with drums and percussion. The bass, drums and lead electric guitar lead you into the soundscape, where you will find Myshell singing. She reminds me a little of Vicky from Part of the Theory, though she sings more relaxed. Kinda of a smooth jazz feel to her delivery. She sings the key lyrics to this song, just after some Santana-like lead guitar solo plays, “You are love, so let yourself be free. Trust in the drop it’ll set you free.”
Shine, opens with Myshell singing like Björk. Then, it turns into Björk, mixed well with “Hounds of Love” era Kate Bush. Yeah, I’m talking “Jig of Life” or “Watching You Without Me,” sounds. Who doesn’t like that? The beat is danceable and full of great grooving. Myshell sings, “Wash away all your aches and pains. Put your light on me. I like the way you shine on me. Mighty waves vibrate through me. Changing all pathways to new energy.” So, entertaining this music is. Chasing The Sun, opens up with some of the best synths on the album. Very cool and spacey; out of this world. Horns light the soundscape with a Central American sound. Myshell sings, “Run into the light! Did you know that your sole. It can get what it’s wishing for? If you listen real close. It’s up to you ‘cos anything goes.” A very cool Latin American sound to this one.
On “Dream Your Life,” Myshell sings, “All I want’s a perfect picture. A piece of land to build my bed. All I wants a perfect harvest. Perfect dreams inside my head. All I want is art and music. Why can’t I have it all? Drop a coin and hopes into the wishing well.” Everything we all want, summarized in a song. All set to another danceable beat, complete with more spacey synths, percussion, and drums.
Witing Room, is not the Genesis classic, off “The Lamb,” but it also is an instrumental. Full of percussion, syths, electric guitar, bass, and drums.
On Nothing, Myshell sings, “There’s nothing in my head. Nothing there but dreams.” Later, she adds, “There is nothing in my head. Nothing there but seeds. Watching how they grow.” That lyric and sound takes me away to a day dream of Peter Gabriel’s, “Digging in the Dirt,” music video. Another cool beat not unlike Gabriel’s song. His is longer, otherwise I’d try to synchronize the two of them.
On Give, the flute returns, and I feel like I’m “travelling in a fried-out Kombi. On a hippie trail, head full of zombie,” again with Men at Work, going “Down Under,” Yes, take me back. I wanna go. The images of the video play through my mind. Myshell sings, “The more that you give. The more that you love. The more you receive from the universe.” Thank you for taking us back to some Men at Work sounds, complete with some Beatles advice.
Hoopy Frood’s Mostly Harmless, was a wonderful trip back to the fun-filled, care-free, 1980s and MTV for me. If you were born after this era, there are many YouTube videos that can take you there. But no, this band has integrated some wonderful reggae, Police (band), like beats and sounds that help make their music unique for modern progressive listeners. Many of us listeners with more years of experience will be pleased to hear the integration of this reggae type of music again. Whoever you are, I am sure this music will entertain and amaze you. Go give Hoopy Frood’s “Mostly Harmless,” a listen. It cannot hurt and will ultimately make you smile. After all, with a name like Hoopy Frood, it is mostly harmless and they are a “really amazingly together band.”
- Progressive Rock Central
"This album certainly will sit very high on the final podium at the end of the year 2025"
New discovery time has landed once again! Influenced by a wide variety of bands such as Ozric Tentacles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Gong, Bob Marley, Ott and Shpongle, these psychedelic Brits venture into electronic soundscapes that rely heavily on bubbly synths, shuffling guitars and a percussion/drum heavy propellant to carve out deep sonic forays into the wide void beyond the ionosphere. With so little background listening , might as well just jump in and let the music do the talking and go from there. Raw impressions can be sometimes most rewarding.
As is often the case in our beloved genre, the opening track requires to set the tone, the initial sonic anesthesia to better enjoy the potential for comfortable numbness as Floyd once boldly stated. Already Home certainly possesses those attributes, as a sweeping electronic channel is set in motion, all the instrumentalists and our vocalist establishing the sensorial glide. Myshell Higgins’ voice is a surrealistic pillow of determined swoon, drifting over waves of percussive aftershocks, feathered synths floating in limbo, Rich Walgate‘s bass keeping the road ahead vibrant and connected. I am already conquered.
Chocolate Factory settles into a reggae-like syncopation, a trait that made the Ozrics famous, led by Andy Aust’s bold drums, in alliance with percussionists Adam Hampton and Ruari Hignell, kept in line by the choppy guitar riffs courtesy of Steve Varman, who decorates the electronic sheen as well, the melodic content always appealing and I daresay, intoxicating.
Slight change of mood on the sunshiny The River, propelled by a solid groove and a catchy vocal with a hummable chorus, Higgins appealing tone doing all the necessary convincing. Halfway through, a massive Varman axe slash, shoves the flow into complete overdrive, accelerating the pace into a cyclonic torrent, another ample winner.
Higgins shows off some remarkable vocalizations on the hauntingly gorgeous You Are Love, a luminous love song that keeps the mood upbeat yet profound, nothing too experimental, aside from an instrumental mid-section that showcases a trembling guitar solo from Varman, two-steps away from genius! Four tracks in and I am already kneeling at the shrine. Immediate connection and I like it.
The creative juices keep on dishing out constant variations, so as not to induce any sense of sameness or boredom, as Shine glows mightily with numerous sonic details that maintain the melodic psychedelia, as well as the experimentation into more organic sounds that veer into occasional ambient pools, an insistent guitar whirl bringing it all back, the bass obstinate in pushing the rays further out into the sky above. Totally addictive and I love it!
Can this possibly continue? Ping-ponging synthesizers introduce the chanting Chasing the Sun, the tropical backbone immediately laying down the foundation, percolating percussive going bonkers as Higgins soulfully exhorts us to pursue the core of our galaxy. She sings, wails, scats, and hushes with dedicated passion. Attention to detail is observed on all the bits and pieces hidden in the grooves.
The electronic sheen placed on the keyboards on Dream Your Life is another feature, patiently settling into after glide, a shimmering treated e-piano doing all the damage, as Higgins’ sleepy exhortation medicates the audience into eye-closing panacea. Varman uncorks a spirited, effect-laden solo that wahs and wahs onward and perhaps even upward. Literrally mind-altering.
It would not be psychedelic without a little bit of instrumental space oddity now, would it? Waiting Room sets the controls to the heart of the universe with a chugging cosmic jam, as binary a beat one can think of thrusters in harmony with the vectors punched into the command module’s control panel. Zooming through the asteroid belt, foraging into new galactic realms, where synthesized mayhem joins groovy guitar rampages. I am on the verge of quark, strangeness and charm.
Back on dry land with the sweltering reggae-infected shuffle of Nothing, a brief respite from all the voyaging into the aether, as it can take all the energy out of you. This ‘will set your mind at ease’ and relax a tad, sitting in a lawn chair on the sandy beach, thinking of ….well… nothing (for a change). Brilliant diversion.
The finale has arrived, and I am hooked, lined and sinkered. The flute adds a smooth farewell to the shifting percussive lullaby, as Give honours the audience with a breezy feel-good vibe, Higgins at her most serene and thoughtful. The lady can sing, the band can certainly play, and frankly, I have found myself rarely as taken with a previously unknown quantity (and quality). This album certainly will sit very high on the final podium at the end of the year 2025.
- House of Prog
"A luminous, kind-hearted, and delightfully addictive album—perfect for anyone in search of comfort and wide-open horizons"
If contemporary progressive rock often favors dark atmospheres, complex structures, and introspective lyrics, some artists choose to swim against the current, bringing back a warmer, sunnier, and more welcoming tone to the genre. This is precisely the path Hoopy Frood follows with Mostly Harmless, their new album, which offers a sonic journey that is soothing, colorful, and deeply human.
From the very first notes, the intention is clear: to reconnect with a form of musical utopia. In a world where everything moves too fast and tensions pile up, Mostly Harmless acts as a balm. The album draws on the legacy of the 1970s, especially the spirit of flower power—not as a mere nostalgic nod, but as a reactivated, updated, and proudly embraced philosophy. Inner peace, kindness, communion with others and with nature all quietly weave their way into the music with palpable sincerity.
Musically, the album impresses with its diversity. The ten tracks form a true kaleidoscope of sounds and styles, blending influences with disarming ease. You’ll encounter ethereal Pink Floyd-like atmospheres, guitar work reminiscent of Led Zeppelin or Free, and psychedelic swirls worthy of Ozric Tentacles. But the band goes even further, infusing their music with elements borrowed from Björk’s inventive pop, Bob Marley’s radiant nonchalance and groove, Fleetwood Mac’s vocal harmonies, and the soft textures of trip-hop. All of this is wrapped in subtle electronic sounds that modernize the whole without ever distorting it.
This sonic richness wouldn’t be complete without the essential contribution of Myshell Higgins, whose voice quite literally lights up the compositions. Both gentle and assured, airy without being wispy, her voice brings a profound humanity to the songs and acts as an emotional through-line for the album. Her nuanced performance reveals a sensitivity capable of expressing a wide range of emotions with ease and accuracy.
This abundance of influences could have been disorienting, but Hoopy Frood manages to weave them into a coherent, personal, and instantly recognizable aesthetic. Each track flows naturally into the next, like chapters in a sensory, positive story, full of imagery and feeling. It’s never showy or verbose—the virtuosity is there, but it serves emotion, balance, and the joy of making music together.
Mostly Harmless plays like flipping through a journal of inner travels, where each page reveals a different yet complementary landscape. It’s a rare work that reconciles musical sophistication with accessibility, artistic freedom with human warmth. In these troubled times, it feels almost like an act of poetic resistance—an ode to gentleness, hope, and the beauty of simple things.
A luminous, kind-hearted, and delightfully addictive album—perfect for anyone in search of comfort and wide-open horizons.
The ideal soundtrack for your summer!
- Prog Et Plus
"The album is a glorious romp of adventure and Cosmic sounds..."
Hoopy Frood are not really a new band really, as they have existed since the early 00's but we’re especially active after the debut album Psychonaut of 2004 and the subsequent show supporting Ozric Tentacles in 2005, a memorable evening one for which Hoopy Frood had to call on friends to make up the ba d up and to perform, The result of which led to a firm collective under the banner of Hoopy Frood and the release of 2 further albums these being Indigo (2009) and Affirmations (2021).
This August (1st) sees the release of Mostly Harmless their new album and their first working with Bad Dog Promotions. This should raise their profile and hopefully introduce their music to a wider audience. The album is a blend of their infuences which include the likes of Pink Floyd, Free, Ozric Tentacles, Bjork, Fleetwood Mac and Bob Marley, in an innovative melding of styles, sounds and textures.
The music is generally groove driven with lots of rhytmic excursions and strong dynamics used throughout, and a strong style of space rock is apparent. The album has 10 tracks of varying lengths all of whch have an upbeat sound to them. The album starts with Already Home which starts with an atmospheric flute and an ethereal voice before some electronica textures are added along with a strong bass line pulsating synths and an elastic guitar line the winds around the track. It is an interesting sound that is pretty unique to them.
Chocolate Factory follows and again the electronica is present as is the strong bass along with the sinewy guitar line sounding like Dire Straits with Electronics. The vocal is from Myshell Higgins, this very electronic in sound with lots of atmospherics and synths burbling during the song.
The River is next with more synths that strong upfront bass line all adding to the drive of the song, this song has a strrong chorus of "I am the river flow with me" there is a fine guitar solo to this track, it do like this track it really has presence and sounds great.
Next track is You Are Love which has languid wah guitar sweeps over the track that accompany the vocal this has another strong vocal from Myshell and some great guitar parts including another fine solo with treatments added.
Shine follows and here you can hear the Bjork influences especially in the vocal but also in the spareness of the track its all very wide in its sound with the vocal being central and everything else at the sides it makes for an unusual and different sound, However it does work well and the song really impresses with great sounds in instrumentation.
Chasing the Sun follows with a snaking synth line present before bass and drums kick in fully. With synth horns played this sound great with the bass pulling everything together well the sound is busy and full with everyone playing up a storm.
Dream your Life the albums second longest track is next with more syths painting an ambient sound wash before the guitar parts begin, This is another strong groove laden track with another extended opening before the vocals start, The vocals are very drearmy in nature with a more ugent tone happening when the guitar starts soloing. This is a truly exquisite and exciting track with a tremendous sound collage to it. Probably. My favourite of the album. The final tracks are both shorter but of no less interest these are Nothing and Give. The album is a glorious romp of adventure and Cosmic sounds fans of Ozrics hawkwind and the like will find much to admire here.
A very enjoyable listening experience all told out 1st August you may well enjoy it as I did.
- Progressive Voyage
"It has been made to beam out of a big sound-system to lots of smiling faces..."
The second album from chill-out rockers Hoopy Frood from the UK and is produced by the mighty Ott. The album tells the story of a girl called Indigo who is destined to change the world via the 100th Monkey theory with each track telling us the story of her journey to enlightenment.
The music is very positive and light, full of playful riffs and melodies, with that start dreamy and fragile and then build up into fully danceable chill out. Dreamy vocals sit deep in the mix which help balance the feel of the music. There's obvious jazz and pop influencesand you can hear a mixture of Amorphous Androgynous and Pink Floyd with a sprinkling of Ott's magic on top. 'Suspended in the Brightness' could easily have been on Blumenkraft' while 'Chasing Inspiration' is a lesson in pure fun, with a rhythm that will carry you along smiling. It's not hard to imagine the music outside at a festival somewhere, it feels like it has been made to beam out of a big sound-system to lots of smiling faces. Definetley worth checking out if you are a chill-out lover looking for something heart warming and less electric than a lot of the releases out there
- Revolve Magazine
"They open in us deep emotions and hidden thoughts..."
Hoopy Frood, a collection of genuine musicians, who know how to play most well known instruments and to create from these a rainbow of melody and sounds. Their music is a big mix from all conceivable chill music styles of electro, over rock, folk and pop. Sometimes synthetically, sometimes acoustically they bring us the supplest ambiente. They open in us deep emotions and hidden thoughts. Special effects and pleasant refrains ring us to the internal peace. They are psychedelic and occasionally remind you of the pacey style 70's with modern pop.
- Mushroom Magazine
"I will never tire of Hoopy Frood…"
errrrrr.... It's difficult to disassociate myself from Rubbish Records and say what I think on a personal level but Rubbish says - this is good: buy it and we'll make a small commission. I say - WOW !!!!!! This album is totally up my street - I really can't recommend it enough. It is definitely the MOST played promo I have received. I'm not really sure what it's got going for it, I'm not qualified to say how good or bad the musicianship is or how technically good it is, but the way this album has been constructed is, for me, as effective and impressive as I found Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and I've never grown tired of that. I suspect I will never tire of Hoopy Frood. I feel they have chucked Pink Floyd, Fun Loving Criminals and Enigma into a bucket and pulled out one of the most outstandingly pleasant albums of the year. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I LIKE IT! I hope you do, too.
- Rubbish Records
"I am still blown away every time I hear it…"
OK boys & girls, properly strapped in are we? Every once in a while something extra special comes along, for some of us - this is such a time. Hoopy Frood, you might have never heard of them but after this release you will have. Psychedelic ambient meets Pink Floyd. Wow!. I won't keep banging on about it. Suffice to say I am still blown away every time I hear it.
- Amboworld
"We suspect the work of hippies …"
Hoopy Frood is the sort of music you might stumble across by accident at a festival. Bridging the gap between progressive rock and psy-chill, it's not going to be to everybody's tastes but for certain members of the psy community, this could be a bit of a gem. Sequence kicks off with circular, guitar-led chillage; and a woohoo is in order ("woohoo!") because uncharacteristically, the guitar's actually decent. Not the sort of skid row power chord monstrosity to infect a lot of "dance floor stormers.
"Never Coming Down is one of the handful of tracks here that deploy vocals; and read that in terms of 'it's a song' rather than the normal psytrance use of vocals as another instrument. Lyrically, it's something rather yogurt-weavy, but pleasant: we suspect the work of hippies. Title track Psychonaut is delightfully awash with guitars, The Voice is a sort of hippy Noel Gallagher / Dido collaboration: an interesting one for sure, though even with repeated listens I'm not quite sure what the song's on about.
Haze is a real tickler: jazzy bass, sliced-up vox, and plenty of other noises all jumping about, making for a nice psy crossover track. Psychology is best described as Small Faces meets Twin Peaks meets Enigma with a sprinkling of semi-flamenco Muppet Show (yup, I told you it was psychedelic.) Impermanence tackles a sort of fast-paced digidub and comes out smelling of roses, Light and Breath is a sort of Vangelis-meets-Café Del Mar floatathon, which is rather spoiled by the sound of a woman moaning suggestively, followed by an overblown guitar solo.
Closing Track Friends is a nice guitar-led ending, a bit like an acoustic Jimmy Page or (how's this for an obscure reference) WG Snuffy Walden, who composed the Thirty-something soundtrack. All in all a likeable, if puzzling album.
- Psyreviews
"Hoopy Frood has a wonderful gift for making beautiful, organic and fun pieces of music..."
As soon as you've taken in the opening track of Hoopy Frood's 2004 debut album, Psychonaut, you know you are in for an eclectic, multi-faceted psychedelic treat. Beautiful guitar mixed with the occasional drumbeat leads into fun-sounding keyboard, which then turns into a haunting piano, and back to the guitar and keyboard. Finally female voices chant over these sounds as it fades out.
I gave that description for one reason: to show how eclectic even a single track on this album is. Does it work? Yes. Like Shpongle and Ozric Tentacles before them, Hoopy Frood has a wonderful gift for making beautiful, organic and fun pieces of music out of a diverse range of influences. And unlike most albums in the psychedelic ambient genre, Psychonaut manages not to sound like "Shpongle lite" and instead forge their own sound. If Shpongle is a mind-bending trip through consciousness, Hoopy Frood is a delightful celebration of life.
If you're new to the psychedelic ambient genre, this is as good as any of an album to start with. However, if you're familiar with it, you'll notice many differences. Unlike most psychedelic ambient albums, Psychonaut eschews foreign chants and Terrence McKenna samples in favor of clean trance-style vocals. It works well for the album and helps set a different type of mood. It also draws its influences from mostly Western music, though there are still African and Eastern influences on the album.
You'll find yourself moved through a range of emotions as you listen to Psychonaut, a range as wide as the number of influences. From the chilled-out tone of "Nlite" to the melancholic "The Voice," Psychonaut finally culminates with the nearly 13-minute epic Light and Breath, with a guitar solo almost rivalling "Comfortably Numb." You are then left to decompress to the beautiful acoustic guitar stylings in "Friends."
Hoopy Frood is music for music fans. If you enjoy a diverse range of styles, you'll enjoy Psychonaut. If you enjoy albums that are not just collections of songs, but musical journeys, you'll find yourself playing it over and over again. Hard copies of Psychonaut are hard to come by, but you can find this album easily in the iTunes Store.
- Channel in the Street (4.5/5)