*** Scud Mountain Boys, “Massachusetts,” Sub Pop....

*** Scud Mountain Boys, “Massachusetts,” Sub Pop. Beautiful music with a country twang isn’t Sub Pop’s forte, so this album felt like the grunge label’s stab at cashing in on the success of Wilco, Son Volt and even Hootie & the Blowfish. The catch is singer Joe Pernice’s reedy, cracked-whisper voice and the band’s literate, dark lyrics about alienation, addiction and obsession. Haunting.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).