It’s a miracle that Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) is
finally seeing the light of day. Originally conceptualized by Drive-By
Truckers frontman Patterson Hood in 1994 and predominantly recorded a
decade later, the album is technically a precursor to DBT classics like
Southern Rock Opera. But there’s nothing second-rate about
Hood’s second collection of solo material. From twangy pop numbers like
“Pollyanna” to Hood’s stripped-down cover of Todd Rundgren’s “The Range
War” and the banjo-driven “Foolish Young Bastard,” the tracks here
paint a more comprehensive picture of Hood’s personality than you get
from a typical Drive-By Truckers disc, where he has to share the
spotlight with the band’s other songwriters. Oh, and those of you who
get off on the morbid nature of songs like “The Assassin” (from his
lo-fi solo debut Killers And Stars) should skip ahead to “Heavy
and Hanging,” a fuzzed-out homage to Kurt Cobain written from his
electrician’s point of view. — Jonah Bayer
This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2009.
