Hilary Woods is an Irish musician born in Dublin.[1] She is a solo artist, previously a member of the alternative rock band JJ72, with which she played bass guitar from 1996 until 2003.[2] JJ72 had success with two Top 20 albums in the early 2000s with Woods as the bassist.[3] She quit the music industry until 2014, returning with her first solo EP entitled Night.[3]

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Woods' solo albums have a gentle, ambient folk sound with "nocturnal keyboard-based songs."[3] Her musical inspiration comes from filmmakers, electronic artists, experimental noise, and folk music traditions.[3] She is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records.[1]

Biography

Woods was raised in Dublin by parents that fostered a musical environment, playing classical, folk, and rock music in the home.[3] Her parents encouraged her to play music, and she began learning her main instrument, the piano.[3] Her brother was encouraged to play instruments as well.[3] As an 18-year-old, Woods joined the band JJ72 with singer/guitarist Mark Greaney and drummer Fergal Matthews.[3] Woods played bass in the band from the late 90's to the early 2000's.[3]

JJ72 was signed to Sony imprint Lakota Records and released their debut self-titled album in 2000, followed by their second album in 2002.[3] Both albums were successful and reached Top 20 charts in the U.K. and Ireland.[3] The group toured for a total of four years, after which Woods left the band and did not return to the music industry for more than a decade.[3]

A year after leaving JJ72, Woods started a family and focused on raising her daughter.[3]

Before returning to the music industry, Woods took college courses that sparked creativity and compelled her to continue making music.[3] Notably, she was inspired by filmmakers such as Wong Kar-wai and Chris Marker.[3] She also expanded her musical horizons by listening to electronic artists such as Jon Hopkins and Vincent Gallo.[3]

After her spell in fine art school and having studied literature and film in college, she returned to music under the name The River Cry for one confidential self-titled album in 2013,[4] then started to release EPs under her own name ('Night' in 2014 and 'Heartbox' in 2016); leading to her debut solo record Colt in 2018[5] as a Sacred Bones artist.[6] After releasing her debut solo EP Night, Woods began touring again.[3] Her most recent album, Birthmarks, was released in 2020.[7]

Discography

Albums

With JJ72

• JJ72 (2000)
• I to Sky (2002)

LPs

• The River Cry (2013)
• Colt (2018)
• Birthmarks (2020)

EPs

• Night (2014)
• Heartbox (2016)
• Feral Hymns (2021)

Singles

• N.I.B. (2021)
• In Heaven (2022)

References

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