Scud Mountain Boys proves there"s more to Massachusetts than Boston. In fact, the band"s aptly titled 1996 release Massachusetts is a stylistic drive through rural New England. Leaning on crisp, countrified melodies and championing a number variations on lonely boy blues, Scud Mountain Boys finds more in common with Johnny Cash than urban thrash. Still, it doesn"t quite feel right aligning them with the ensemble of No Depression bands that have taken up the banner of alternative country. On Massachusetts, Scud Mountain Boys find a tension that belongs more uniquely to life in the northern states, an urban sophistication with heartland simplicity--or at least a longing for such a combination. --Nick Heil