We report vibrational and electronic spectra of the hydroxy-methylperoxy radical (HOCH2OO center dot or HMP), which was formed as the primary product of the reaction of the hydroperoxy radical, HO2 center dot, and formaldehyde, HCHO. The vi vibrational (OH stretch) 'spectrum and the A <- X electronic spectrum of HMP were detected by infrared cavity ringdown spectroscopy (IR-CRDS), and assignments were verified with density functional calculations. The HMP radical was generated in reactions of HCHO with HO2 center dot. Free radical reactions were initiated by pulsed laser photolysis (PLP) of Cl-2 in the presence of HCHO and O-2 in a flow reactor at 300-330 Torr and 295 K. IR-CRDS spectra were measured in mid-IR and near-IR regions over the ranges 3525-3700 cm(-1) (nu(1)) and 7250-7800 cm(-1) (A <- X) respectively, at a delay time 100 mu s after, photolysis. The vi spectrum had an origin at 3622 cm(-1) and exhibited partially resolved P- and R-branch contours and a small Qbranch. At these short delay times, spectral interference frorn'HOOH and HCOOH was minimal and could be subtracted. From B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) calculations, we found that the anharmonic vibrational frequency and band contour predicted for the lowest energy conformer; HMP-A, were in good agreement with the observed spectrum. In the near-IR, we observed four well spaced vibronic bands, each with partially resolved rotational contours. We assigned the apparent origin of the A <- X electronic spectrum of HMP at 7389 cm(-1) and two bands to the blue to a progression in rib', the lowest torsional mode of the A state (vis' = 171 cm(-1)). The band furthest to the red was assigned as a hot band in v(15)'', leading to a ground state torsional frequency of (v(15 '') = 122 cm(-1)). We simulated the spectrum using second order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT2) with B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) calculations at the minimum energy geometries of the HMP-A conformer on the X and A states. The predictions of the electronic origin frequency, torsional frequencies, anharmonicities, and rotational band contours matched the observed spectrum. We investigated the torsional modes more explicitly by computing potential energy surfaces of HMP as a function of the two dihedral angles THoco and rooco. Wave functions and energy levels were calculated on the basis of this potential surface; these results were used to calculate the Franck Condon factors, which reproduced the vibronic band intensities in the observed electronic spectrum. The transitions that we observed all involved states with wave functions localized on the minimum energy conformer, HMP-A. Our calculations indicated that the observed near-IR spectrum was that of the lowest energy 5( state conformer HMP-A, but that this conformer is not the lowest energy conformer in the A state, which remains unobserved. We estimated that the energy of this lowest conformer (HMP-B) of the A state is E-0 HMP-B) approximate to 7200 cm(-1), on the basis of the energy difference E-0(HMP-B) - E-0(HMP-A) on the A state computed at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level.