They claim Milwaukee as their base, but Hugh Bob & The Hustle make a pungent mixture of rawboned country and heartland rock inspired by the hardscrabble environs of tiny Butternut, Wis., the hometown of lead singer/songwriter Hugh Masterson. “Ashland County” and “North Country” combine the sonic grit of ‘70s Southern rock with a sharp eye for lyric detail, reminiscent of early Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot. “Butternut” is a particularly vivid slice of small-town life, served up by Masterson with believably conflicted emotions. When they choose, the band can veer toward the rambunctious side of contemporary country, as “This Bar Is a Prison” and “Mess with Me” (featured on TV’s Nashville) show. “Blame Me” has the honky tonk jauntiness of Buck Owens, while “Red, White & Blue Jeans” rekindles Gram Parsons' cosmic cowboy vibe. Contributions from alt-country singer Nikki Lane, fiddler Nathaniel Markman (Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeroes), and pedal steel player Jon Graboff (Ryan Adams, The Cardinals) add to the impact of this first release by this scrappy, straight-shooting combo.