Audio Mixer: David Barbe.

Liner Note Author: Patterson Hood.

Recording information: Chase Park Transduction, Athens, GA.

Photographers: Wendy VanPelt; Sean Fine.

Patterson Hood, the leader of the Drive-By Truckers, recorded his first solo album in 2001 as a series of rough four-track demos, and when KILLERS AND STARS finally received an official release in 2004, it sounded like a set of songs too eccentric and too personal to fit in with the Truckers' hard-driving approach. In many respects, Hood's second solo set, 2009's MURDERING OSCAR (AND OTHER LOVE SONGS), is also dominated by songs a little too odd and close to the vest to make it onto a DBT album. But if KILLERS AND STARS sounded heartfelt but tentative, MURDERING OSCAR is confident and full-bodied, and not just because most of these songs include a full band rather than just Hood and his guitar. With each album, the Drive-By Truckers have shown a willingness to reach for deeper themes, and MURDERING OSCAR consistently cuts closer to the bone than KILLERS AND STARS; the post-9/11 malaise of "Pride of the Yankees," the wasted but honest romantic plea of "Back of a Bible," and the title tune's tale of a morally elastic hitman are all trickier, more complex, and more satisfying than anything on Hood's solo debut. Even the relatively lightweight numbers like "Walking Around Sense" (addressed to the daughter of a seriously dysfunctional rock star) and "Foolish Young Bastard" show an impressive amount of weight and muscle. Hood may not have a silky-smooth voice, but he's learned to work wonders with the smoky texture of his instrument. Presumably it's not enough for Patterson Hood that he fronts one of the best rock bands in America--MURDERING OSCAR shows him stepping into an equally impressive solo career.