Patterson Hood and his band, The Sensurrounders, closed out their Spring tour at Louisville’s Butchertown neighborhood venue, The Whirling Tiger, on Saturday evening during a deluge of rain that has plagued the city for nearly a week. Hood delivered a shockwave to the senses with a full rendering of his latest release, Exploding Trees and Airplane Screams, a selection of back catalog favorites, and a few unlikely covers.  

Exploding Trees and Airplane Screams is an earthquake.  The 10-track album of new material from Hood in over a decade delivers a steady 8.0 on the Richter Scale seizing the listener with intense lyrics, haunting melodies, and poignant tales that rock the foundation of Hood’s past endeavors.  Many of the tracks on the release were found hiding in Hood’s notebooks for years.  One of those is album opener, “Exploding Trees,” a tragic piece about a natural disaster devastating Hood’s hometown in northern Alabama that resulted in broken pines, crashing houses, and injured beauty queens.  On “A Werewolf and a Girl,” a love song of sorts Hood wrote in 2021, he tells the tale of a yearlong relationship with his high school sweetheart some 40 years prior.  And at the tail end of the album, the more orchestral “Airplane Screams” finally finds its way onto recorded media having been penned some four decades ago.  The new collection spans a bit of everything, from Hood’s young manhood to his struggles and observations during lockdown, all amassed into one of the greatest collections the prolific musician has put forth to date.  

Performed live, the mesmerizing tracks from Exploding Trees are truly special.  Add to mix the dimly lit and retro vibe of The Whirling Tiger, and the whole package was a noir-tinged vibe of visual and aural bliss.

Accompanying Hood this tour is longtime friend Lydia Loveless, the alt-country icon whose distinct twang-infused vocals bring the perfect raw and gritty accompaniment to the party. Their voice can be heard on the new album as the response on “Werewolf,” and was just as sweet live. On the tour, Loveless joins not only as a band member but pulling double duty as show support for each stop along the route.

In addition, the epicenter of Hood’s outing is a true blast of a band he’s dubbed The Sensurrounders. Hood shares the name is coined after movie theater sound effects of the 80’s made popular in disaster films like, none other than, Earthquake. The band features Ben Hackett, who provides truly melodic moments on a collection of instruments including keyboards, guitars, and Horns. Multi-instrumentalist Jay Gonzales contributing just the right amount of Guitar and keys to the mix and Brad Morgan sets a steady pace on Drums.  Those familiar with Hood’s “day job” band, Drive-By Truckers, will recognize Gonzales and Morgan from that endeavor who along with Hood, have had little rest having just been on the road with DBT showcasing of the band’s epic, Southern Rock Opera in late 2024 and this last January.

It is no surprise that Hood is able to craft such thoughtful and rattling pieces.  Having grown up in a musically rich environment around Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and son of David Hood of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, he has been playing and writing songs for decades.  Major influences include many of the masters of rock, soul, punk, and R&B from the era surrounding his youth.  With Drive-By Truckers co-founder, Mike Cooley, Hood frequently blends vivid storytelling with political and personal themes, many of which, are as important today as they were 20 and 30 years ago.  

In addition to the songs from the new album, a few selections from Hood’s prior solo efforts find their way into the current tour’s setlist.   “Disappear” from Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, “Pollyana” from Murdering Oscar, and  “Uncle Disney” from Killers and Stars all secure logical placement during the nearly 2-hour set.  The band acknowledged the April 5 anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death with “Heavy and Hanging,” also from Murdering Oscar. Of course, no Patterson Hood show would be complete without DBT fan favorites, “Heathens” and “World of Hurt.”  Two pieces that lend well to current day story telling and fit nicely among the tales told from Exploding Trees.

Tonight’s Whirling Tiger stop was the last on Hood’s tour with the Sensurrounders which found fans tucked away in intimate venues across Midwest and east coast cities including Brooklyn, Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago.  Those who failed to seize the opportunity to catch this leg of the tour will have to get their Hood-fix when he appears solo later this month or with the Truckers as they rumble across the country beginning in late May with Deer Tick and Thelma & The Sleaze.  

No matter how you’re able, find a way to experience Hood and his storytelling. It is an intense and unforgettable experience not soon forgotten. “See you at the Rock Show!!”