Album Review: Joe Pug – Messenger

The other day I heard Joe Pug on WUMB and was intrigued. The song was Speak Plainly, Diana.

First let me step back and say, Yes, I was listening to the radio!

Since my wife and I choose to subscribe to Rhapsody I am able to listen to Joe’s album without having to pay any extra for it. I gave it two good listen throughs and here are my takeaways.

The title song is perhaps the best on the album. It’s upbeat and has an intersting melody and phrasing similar to Patty Griffin and The Crash Test Dummies.
After the title song the next six songs are barely worth listening to. The second song, How Good You Are is the best of those six.
The last three tracks on the album are worth listening to for sure. Disguised as Someone Else has an interesting story reveal at the end. I wasn’t sure why he would want to be someone else until the very end.
Bury Me Far (From My Uniform) is held up by its melody and structure but also has an interesting and compelling enough story.
The final track, which is the same as I heard on WUMB, is really only worth listening to because it is upbeat. The story isn’t super compelling.

Conclusion: Overall, a good effort by a young Joe Pug. I would suggest writing more uptempo songs. I realize this isn’t easy for many folk singers, me included, however, the two uptempo tracks on this album really hold it together and make it worth listening to.

See Joe Pug at Great Scott in Alston, MA on Thursday March, 4th at 8:30pm.
http://www.joepugmusic.com/

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