Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs)

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Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) is Patterson Hood’s second solo album, released on June 23, 2009. It was recorded in 2005 at Chase Park Transduction Studios in Athens, Georgia, with Hood, producer David Barbe, and musicians Will Johnson, Scott Danbom, and Hood’s father, David Hood. The album runs 52 minutes and 39 seconds and was released on Hood’s Ruth St. Records and on ATO Records.

The songs were written from 1994 to 2004, about half before Hood joined the Drive-By Truckers and half after his child was born in 2004. Recording began in early 2005, but the release was delayed for several years, something Hood attributes to “record industry bullshit.”

Musically, the album blends country, Southern rock, and garage rock, using guitar, reverb, and some piano. Lyrically, it covers personal topics like his family and his growing fame with the Drive-By Truckers, as well as darker themes. Critics generally praised its intimate, mature feel and its compassionate handling of both positive and negative subjects, though some felt it wasn’t as strong as Hood’s work with the Truckers.

Murdering Oscar peaked at No. 153 on the Billboard 200. Half the songs were written in 1994 and half in 2004, with all recording completed in 2005. Hood’s collaborators included David Barbe, Will Johnson, Scott Danbom, and Hood’s father, David Hood.

Notable tracks include the title tale Murdering Oscar, a moral-tinged hitman story inspired by Crimes and Misdemeanors; Pollyanna, with rough guitars and hopeful piano; Pride of the Yankees, a piano-driven ballad; I Understand Now, about finding contentment; Screwtopia, a satire of suburban life; Granddaddy, about having a child; Belvedere, a creepy-date song; The Range War, a Todd Rundgren cover; Walking Around Sense, with a Crazy Horse vibe; and Back of a Bible, a love song to his wife written in the back of a motel Bible.

Critical reception was generally favorable, with a Metacritic score of 80. Some critics highlighted its honesty and personal focus, while others compared it unfavorably to Hood’s Drive-By Truckers work. It appeared on several year-end lists, including Steven Hyden naming it the fifth best album of 2009. In Hood’s solo chronology, it sits after Killers and Stars (2004) and before Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance (2012).