Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Rich and gruff like Nebraska-era Springsteen with a swamp rock edge, the somewhat weathered voice of Boris McCutcheon is the perfect rusty vehicle for his conversational songwriting style. McCutcheon was born on the East coast, studied organic farming on the West coast and recorded this sophomore release in the Southwest, and his vivid cross-section of experiences and sensations shine through the kicked-up Tucson dust. Engineer Craig Schumacher (Neko Case, Steve Wynn, Calexico) had the analog recording set up and variety of vintage instruments, including orchestra bells, mandolin, xylopipes, piano, pedal steel, Hammond, and Rhodes to brilliantly color McCutcheon's sun-baked, subtle hooks and substantial lyrics ("she called me from heaven on a cellular phone / beyond that sad mountain of steel and bones"). - Miles Of Music
With a name like Boris, you'd better be good at whatever it is you do. Fortunately for Boris McCutcheon, he's more than good at what he does, which is desert folkcore--Americana with a Southwestern bent and a railyard twist, what Howe Gelb might do some night among the saguaro with a hit of acid and a Neil Young bug up his ass. McCutcheon sounds as though you've heard him before (a little bit John Dee Graham, a little bit John Hiatt, perhaps) which, assuming you haven't, is one hell of a compliment. Dig for this Pete Weiss-produced gem.
- Michael Henningsen
Backed by a top-shelf band that included drummer Jeff Berlin (Hybrasil, Duke Levine), multi-instrumentalist Brett Davis, keyboardist Nick Luca (Calexico, Giant Sand, John Doe), and Schumacher and Weiss, "Big" rings true with terrific roots-rocking performances, not the least of which come from McCutcheon's conversational songwriting and warmly weathered vocals.
It's a gritty and expressively soulful voice, similar in texture to Tim Easton's or John Hiatt's, that has stood McCutcheon in good stead on the folk circuit. He's a favorite at Cambridge's Club Passim and has a following on Cape Cod as an acoustic performer. Although it has quieter tones, the new album's alt-country shadings and rock attitude may surprise some fans.
- Jonathan Perry
Discography
When We Were Big (Cactusman, 2003)
Mother Ditch (Cactusman, 2001)
Radio play and streaming:
Lonely Boy
Handyman
Red Bone Pond
Heart Of The Grove
Santa Rosa Plums
Beautiful Prison
Sad Mountain
Gift Horse
Meet Me
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Voted Boston Magazine's 2003 Hot List of Musicians burning up the town, Boris McCutcheon had been collecting the pieces of his musical mosaic long before he picked up a guitar 15 years ago. He was born in 1969 in Holliston, MA, grew up on farmland, and attended Marlboro College in Vermont. For 9 years, he soaked up the scenery and spirit of New Mexico and Northern California before returning to the east coast sea-sprayed village of Woods Hole, MA. Boris has made his living as an organic farmer and an irrigation designer. He knows hay from straw.
Boris writes songs with organic, gritty beauty, but they're not precious. He doesn't like songs that are precious. Instead, he depicts the natural world, walls built by human hands and emotions, and characters cloaked in sadness with piercing imagery. Boris has a unique knack for noticing sights, sounds, and feelings that are beneath the surface, or askew. His lyrics can take a fantastic turn and more than a few will prompt you to ask, "How did he ever come up with that?"
It's more than Boris' keen insights and how he strings words together that give the songs their distinct personalities. It's also the music. He infuses elements of folk, rock, bluegrass, and old school country and blues. But this music doesn't just accompany the lyrics, it sustains them. His brand of roots music is heartfelt — from the unhurried ballads to the rocking numbers and rollicking ditties — with melodies that get stuck in your head. Ouch!>
Whether Boris takes the stage as a solo act with his guitar and blazing harmonica, or is joined by his electric Boston band, the performance is engaging, passionate, and downright fun!
The separate mismatched pieces of Boris' life experiences, his intuition, and musical influences fit together to form his mosaic — a beautiful, original, mystical pattern of music. Every time you listen to it, another little piece catches your attention and it shows you something else.
INFLUENCES: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Greg Brown, John Prine, Lucinda Williams
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