Patterson Hood, co-founder of Athens-based rock band Drive-By Truckers, has announced his latest solo LP, Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams. Out February 21 via ATO, the project has invited collaborations from all across the indie sphere, including features with Lydia Loveless, Waxahatchee, and Wednesday – just to name a few.

With the album’s reveal comes its first single, featuring Lydia Loveless – check out the video for "A Werewolf and A Girl" right here: 

In a press release from Hood’s website, the singer-songwriter detailed the creative drive behind his latest single, including Loveless’s vocal contributions:

“'A Werewolf and A Girl’ was written in August of 2021, around 40 years after I fell for my high school sweetheart,” says Patterson Hood. “The song juxtaposed our falling in love and our breakup a year later. Once I cut the demo, I knew I wanted a woman to sing the choruses from the girl’s point of view. And in my head, it was always going to be Lydia. I mean, I didn’t really even have a second choice. The subject matter’s kind of provocative, so I wouldn’t have wanted to ask somebody that I didn’t feel was a friend. I wouldn’t want someone to be uncomfortable and then just not want to talk to me anymore. What I didn’t count on was that when I asked Lydia if she would be interested in doing it, she actually happened to be in the studio and did it the next day. And that’s what’s on the record.”

The album’s ten tracks will also host a huge cast of artists from the world of indie music. Hood has gathered not only his band mates Brad Morgan and Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers, but plenty more familiar names: Waxahatchee, Brad and Phil Cook of Megafaun, Kevin Morby (Woods, The Babies), alt-rock band Wednesday, Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, The Blasters), David Barbe (Sugar, Mercyland), Nate Query of The Decemberists, Daniel Hunt (Neko Case, M Ward), Stuart Bogie (The Hold Steady, Goose) – all appearing on the album in their own capacity, with Lydia Loveless inaugurating it’s announcement through the latest single. Further contributors include artist Frances Thrasher (album art), and Jason Shevchuck, who directed the video for A Werewolf and A Girl.

Also among these many collaborators is the album’s producer, Chris Funk of The Decemberists, who first connected with Hood when both artists moved to Portland, Oregon in 2013. Ten years later, Exploding Trees began taking shape, deviating from the sounds found on Hood’s work with Drive-By Truckers.

Described on his website as a “baroque Americana song cycle,” Hood sought to create music based on careful character studies that are “nakedly autobiographical and remarkably unflinching” – themes of looking back and discovering how different the world is compared to where you once were are prevalent throughout this new solo work, as lyrically Hood reckons with old truths through new songs. 

An eponymous tour supporting the new album kicks off on March 19th in Brooklyn, NY. Hood is also capping off 2024 with a 13-stop solo tour, with a three-day, pre-holiday set at Show Bar in Portland, OR. Find all those dates down below.

Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams is out February 21. Preorder here, and find the full tracklist below:

1. Exploding Trees
2. A Werewolf and a Girl (w/ Lydia Loveless)
3. The Forks of Cypress (w/ Waxahatchee)
4. Miss Coldirons Oldsmobile
5. The Pool House
6. The Van Pelt Parties (w/ Wednesday)
7. Last Hope
8. At Safe Distance
9. Airplane Screams
10. Pinocchio

PATTERSON HOOD - LIVE, DECEMBER 2024

12/3 – South Deerfield, MA – House Theater at Tree House Brewing Company
12/4 – Shirley, MA – The Bull Run
12/6 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center
12/7 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Music Hall
12/8 – Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat
12/10 – New Orleans, LA – Chickie Wah Wah
12/12 – Fort Worth, TX – Tulips
12/13 – The Woodlands, TX – Dosey Doe
12/14 – Austin, TX – Antone’s
12/16 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
12/18 – Portland, OR – Show Bar
12/19 – Portland, OR – Show Bar
12/20 – Portland, OR – Show Bar

EXPLODING TREES & AIRPLANE SCREAMS 2025 TOUR

3/19 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Made †
3/21 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater †
3/22 – Washington, DC – The Atlantis †
3/26 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West †
3/28 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn †
3/29 – Nashville, TN – Eastside Bowl †
3/30 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi †
4/1 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School of Folk †
4/2 – Evanston, IL – SPACE †
4/4 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway †
4/5 – Louisville, KY – The Whirling Tiger †

† w/ Special Guest Lydia Loveless

The Needle Drop may earn an affiliate commission via purchases on ticket links through this article.