Not Your Ordinary Joe

By Lizz Kannenberg in Arts & Entertainment on May 2, 2008 4:25PM

One of the most common exchanges we have when playing Joe Pug's Nation of Heat EP for a friend goes something like this:

Friend: "Wow, this is intense. How old is this guy?"

Chicagoist: "He's 24."

Friend: "Hooo-lee shit."

This scene has been repeated several times in the two weeks that we've had this little 7-songs wonder, and with good reason - Pug is the real deal. The kid’s got that weariness in his delivery that you can’t smoke or drink your way to because it comes from somewhere deeper than the vocal chords. It’s the same gritty, spirited voice that made Hank I, Kurt Cobain, and Bob Dylan iconic, and we as Chicagoans will be privileged enough to watch the kid develop from precocious youngster to out and out star.

A grainy delivery and smart, mature melodies may initially turn the critical spotlight on Nation of Heat, but it's Pug's impressive lyrical turn of phrase that'll keep this record viable and potent for years to come. When he astutely observes "I'd rather be nobody's man than somebody's child" on the poignant "Nobody's Man," it's hard to believe he still has to pay the underage driver's fee for a rental car. The entirely of "Hymn 101" is Dylan-worthy in its poetry, a captivating capsule of yearning, wanderlust, and Dust Bowl-reminiscent balladry: "The more I buy, the more I am bought/The more I'm bought, the less I cost." Yeah, catch him while you can.

MP3: Joe Pug - Hymn 101

Joe Pug plays Schubas tomorrow night, 10:00 p.m., $8, 18+