At the time, the Drive-By Truckers had just finished recording their album Southern Rock Opera, and Hood was going through a divorce.

[3][1] However, with regard to these comparisons, Rob Trucks noted that "Hood's self-imposed exile fosters a rage more aligned with a dormant Charlie Starkweather than Springsteen.

"[3] Another favorable review was written by Pitchfork Media's Stephen M. Deusner, who gave the album a 7.4 out of 10 rating.

Deusner wrote that "While its ultimate fate will likely be as a footnote to his full-time band's long haul, Killers and Stars is strong enough to stand as a separate entity, a personal statement from Hood, sovereign from the interlocked identities of the Drive-By Truckers.

"[1] Dan Macintosh wrote in Country Standard Time that "...while [Killers and Stars is] not exactly pretty, it's nevertheless starkly honest and moving.