Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs)

iTunes Review

As the leader of Drive-By Truckers, one of the era’s finest Southern rock bands, Patterson Hood has proven to be both a significant singer and songwriter in a genre often dominated by the art of the jam. His heavily conceptual writing introduces us to a myriad of “characters” and situations that meet soul-satisfying walls of screaming electric guitars or empathetic acoustic ones. This 2009 solo album includes songs that date back to his earliest days as a lone troubadour and were recorded several years ago before being shelved for other projects. These are NOT leftovers. “Heavy and Hanging” confronts suicide. “Walking Around Sense” looks at a rock star’s life in the context of also being a parent, however negligible. “Pride of the Yankees” explores the idea of bringing a child into a post 9-11 world. The title track takes its cue from Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors and its themes of self-forgiveness and letting go. Hood even throws in a cover of Todd Rundgren’s “The Range War” that shows the expansiveness of Hood’s influences.