Frankly, it's a relief to hear Patterson Hood backed by banjo, fiddle and acoustic strumming; the Drive-By Truckers frontman has hollered Southern Gothic tales over an electric-guitar army with such intensity for so many years, it's a miracle he hasn't flamed out. This third solo set was born of a shelved novel/song-cycle project. The hush magnifies its stories of family and fucked-up youth, and even the sketches deliver an emotional gut punch. "Leaving Time," a tour rat's ongoing farewell to his kids, and "After the Damage," a rueful duet with Kelly Hogan, sound like the birth of a sustainable sideline. Just make sure you keep rocking too, OK, dude?

Click to listen to Patterson Hood's album 'Heat Lightning Rumble In the Distance'

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."