Austin, TX singer songwriter Joe Pug has a new album out on March 10th titled Windfall. The album promises some changes from his 2012 release The Great Despiser as recently revealed on piano-led opener Bright Beginnings which you can hear below along with Stay and Dance.
There nearly wasn’t a follow up album as the relentless touring since his last album had finally taken its toll on his personal life and creativity which had run dry. As he reveals in his updated biography: “It was this surreal dichotomy. Everyone kept congratulating me on how well the tour was going, and the mood was probably the best it had ever been on the road. We finally got two hotel rooms in each city instead of one. We’ve got this incredible group of die-hard fans that somehow make each show bigger than our previous trip through town. Meanwhile my relationship was in shambles and creatively I was at a dead end. There was absolutely no joy left in playing music. So we walked off stage after a particular show when I played terribly, and pulled my manager aside in the green room and told him to cancel the rest of the tour dates and that I was essentially through.”
With studio time already booked his singing career began to feel more like a job than a passion which led to him drinking ‘astonishing amounts of bourbon’, a rut he thankfully lifted himself out of. Time-out was called on plans for a new album allowing him to reconnect and get his life back on an even keel. “I just needed to start behaving like a human being again. I needed to reconnect with my girlfriend. I needed to eat healthy food. I needed to go enjoy live music as a fan. I really needed to make sure I still loved making music, because I really had my doubts at that point.”
Well he clearly has got back on form, he’s now engaged to be married and Windfall takes that resilience as its backbone making it a very promising release. Bright beginnings indeed.
Out March 10th via Lightning Rod Records in the US and Loose Music in Europe.