LEWIS PUGH – Heretics And Heritage (own label)

Some artists who are labelled Americana have a tenuous relationship with the term. Not Lewis Pugh – he’s full on. You can tell that the way that by the way he lists banjo first in his credits and the presence of fiddle and pedal steel. Of course, you could just listen to Heretics And Heritage and dispel any doubts. Lewis is from the wild west of Yorkshire and was brought up on bluegrass and country music. His principal supporters here are Evan Davies (mandolin) Steven Hicken and Niles Krieger playing the aforementioned pedal steel and fiddle respectively and Vince Cayo on accordion and low whistle.

There is a fearsome energy about Lewis Pugh’s music. The opening track, ‘Big Stone Lifter’ begins with a rallying cry and I thought that it might be about The World’s Strongest Man competition. Then I decided it was probably about working men: blue-collar types who dig and hew. Then I thought that I was right the first time and that’s what it is, although nothing as formal as a TV show. It runs straight into ‘Blue Lady’ and now the preliminaries are over.

There is strong political element in Pugh’s writing and it makes its first appearance in ‘Beaufort County Jail’. Deceptive at first, it sounds like a story from the mythical west not unlike, say, ‘John Wesley Harding’ but in fact it’s a true story. It tells of Joan Little, a black woman who was acquitted of the murder of a prison guard who had tried to rape her and who became something of a cause celebre for the civil rights movement.

‘Holes’ is about digging holes but for what? – we’re not quite sure – but it’s about a juvenile punishment camp where boys are being made to dig just because. Davies’ mandolin has a major role in the cover of Ed Pickford’s ‘They Can’t Put ‘Em Back’. This is a song about mining – but’s more about the pollution and devastation that strip mining for coal causes. ‘The Ballad Of Robert Smalls’ takes us back to Beaufort County and tells the story of a slave who commandeered a confederate ship and handed it over to the Union – the start of a long and distinguished career. Unusually, this is sung a cappella. And while we’re on the subject of freedom, ‘Anna Haslam’ is the story of an Irish suffragist, with an accompaniment that is more folk-rock than country. Cayo gets his moment in the spotlight here.

We return to the mythical west with ‘Until The Wolves’ told from the viewpoint of the wolves. It’s a knockout piece of writing. ‘Stolen Angels’ is about child labour in the mills and mines, a song set to an unreasonably happy waltz tune and ‘Bertie’s Song’ tells of a Caribbean boy who was brought to Britain (I suppose) to be a houseboy.  It’s another sad story. ‘The Murder Of Maria Marten’ is the familiar traditional song but you’ve never heard it sung like an American murder ballad until now. Finally, ‘Shotgun Billy’ is the story of “a mean young man/big muscles, small brains” and although the title suggests an old American song it’s a modern tale. Surprisingly, no-one admits to playing kazoo on this track.

So there you have it. Heretics And Heritage is a fascinating collection of songs which you might describe as beginning on the wrong side of the tracks although quite a few turn out well in the end. Having researched and concentrated on the songs it’s now a record I can just kick back to with great enjoyment.

Dai Jeffries

Artist’s website: https://lewispughmusic.com/

‘Holes’ – official video:

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