Yorkshireman Lewis Pugh’s list of influences range from bluegrass, country, folk through to skiffle and punk. That seems to cover more than enough angles for his fourth solo album. Frankly, the punk element is not really evident unless you take that label as applying to a DIY attitude.
The twelve songs are centred simple acoustic arrangements with guitar and banjo being the main instruments. Pugh specialises in story songs about working folk, outlaws and freedom fighters.
In rapid succession we have They Can't Put 'Em Back about anti-mining environmentalist Larry Gibson, The Ballad of Robert Smalls an a cappella telling of the life of an American politician born into slavery and Anna Haslam, a tribute to a notable suffragist.
The fictional narratives include a version of the traditional song of crime (murder) and punishment: The Ballad of Maria Marten.
The straightforwardness of the delivery means that Pugh is not setting out to break new ground, simply proving the timeless appeal of recounting real and imaginary stories in song.
