PATTERSON HOOD
Killers and Stars
New West

On weird solo album, Southern rock's great hope has an unhealthy "diet"

If the Drive-By Truckers haven't convinced the world that Patterson Hood is a new master of the vanishing art of literal, narrative songwriting, Killers and Stars certainly won't do the trick. But he is, and that's why fans will want to hear this DIY collector's item. Recorded solo in his dining room three years ago and peddled at gigs as a "work in progress," it shows unusual thematic range even for Hood. Subjects include Alzheimer's, heart transplants, a cryogenic Walt Disney seeking payback, Chan Marshall, Frances Farmer and the "Belinda Carlisle diet": "Cocaine and milkshakes/Milkshakes, cocaine." But the Drive-By Truckers haven't convinced the world that Patterson Hood is much of a singer, because he isn't. In short, the material cries out for a band.

Blender, June/July 2004