When I first heard 'Massachusetts' it didn't do a lot for me. It was nice enough, had a few nice, slow tunes, but it was nothing special. But, because I'm a sucker for slow and maudlin music, it kept dragging me back and it's now one of my favourite CDs. The Scud Mountain Boys inhabit a similar world to Bonnie 'Prince' Billy but probably more despairing: the girl has always left or died, leaving the boy in a lonely and hopeless world with only a guitar for company.