SOLO OR WITH DBT, PATTERSON HOOD WRITES AND SINGS IN HIGH DEFINITION

Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance
2012

575 Miles To Go

If I could ever go on an extended tour of the South, I want Patterson Hood to be my travel guide.

Whether solo or with the Drive-By Truckers, Hood writes and sings songs with a friendly drawl in high definition.

Listening to his albums is like being in a musical BW3 surrounded by countless televisions showing life in four-minute snippets and set to guitars. The kaleidoscope of characters and moments spin colorfully past, sometimes in a flash and sometimes fleshed out.

Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, Hood's third solo effort, is a 2012 continuation of his travelogues and tributes to friends, family, former loves, Billy Ringo and "that lady from the Sunbeam bread wrapper" who was killed in dead-man's curve head-on when Hood was little.

Musically, it's another quiet collection like his previous solo albums and the later Drive-By Trucker records.Hood's henchmen on this include DBTers David Barbe, Mike Cooley Jay Gonzalez, Brad Morgan and now former member John Neff.

The magic of Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance comes from the way Hood lets you live in his scenes and almost swear his subjects would answer you back if you asked them a question.

Anyone who's ever worked on the road will grin at the bittersweet pirate joy of Leaving Time and the hours before heading out on a new adventure, but leaving the wife and kids behind to do so.

Heat Lightning's highs are happy and the lows are achingly hurtful, especially on Better Off Without, After The Damage and Betty Ford.

Until Hood opens that travel agency, trips like these will more than do.

Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance Song For The Soundtrack: (untold pretties)

Running Data for Thursday, June 13:

4.08 Miles

44:22

Mileage In The Change Jar: 0.45 Miles