Joe Pug

The Great Despiser (Lightning Rod)

“To meet me is to dare into the darkness,” intones Joe Pug on his sophomore LP opener “Hymn #76.” It strikes as both challenge and warning, a psalm leveled by the songwriter at himself and the listener. Now settled in Austin after garnering acclaim in Chicago following 2008 EP bow Nation of Heat and 2010’s Messenger LP, Pug continues to develop a bolt of determination and sacrifice that paradoxically springs from a place of doubt. Grueling tough-times ode “Those Thankless Years” cuts a stark but hopeful vision in his hard-punched drawl, while “A Gentle Few” delves headlong into an uncertainty of faith and success assuaged by a soft rhythm. The title track kicks roots rock restlessness with Pug’s quartet in full bloom “Stronger Than the World” holding tight atop a surge of electric guitar like caustic rumble “Neither Do I Need a Witness,” but the frontman delivers best acoustically, as on the grasping “Silver Harps and Violins” and folk lilt of “One of Many.” Pug never settles on the blind stance of surety, instead lingering in the difficult grays of ambiguity, yet his songwriting continues to hone down a basic emotional reality. (Joe Pug plays the Parish Saturday, April 21.)

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This article appears in April 20 • 2012.

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Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.