Hugh Bob And The Hustle

Milwaukee favorites The Wildbirds may offer a near-perfect update of The Rolling Stones’ raw garage rock, but the group’s country-tinged offshoot, Hugh Bob And The Hustle, serves up something decidedly more mellow. The Hugh Masterson-fronted project trades swagger and strut for breezy alt-country instrumentation and twangy harmonies, but retains a strong sense of songwriting and a knack for effortless hooks. The group’s lone single, “Red, White, & Blue Jeans,” doesn’t stray too far from the time-tested, Wilco-indebted “northern country” vibe, but it bodes well for the Hustle’s upcoming full-length album, currently scheduled for spring 2012. 

Updated 01/06/2012