| Messenger | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Joe Pug |
| Cover: | Messenger_by_Joe_Pug_Album.png |
| Released: | 2010 |
| Genre: | Folk, Acoustic |
| Label: | Lightning Rod Records |
| Prev Title: | In the Meantime |
| Prev Year: | 2010 |
| Next Title: | Live at Lincoln Hall |
| Next Year: | 2011 |
Messenger is Joe Pug's first full-length album.
In contrast to Pug's first EP, Nation of Heat, a full backing band supplements Pug's guitar, vocals and harmonica, a change featured most notably on an electric version of Nation of Heats "Speak Plainly, Diana." Reviewers, like Steve Kolowich at the Washington City Paper, noted that, with Messenger, in contrast to Nation of Heat, Pug turns from declarative and extroverted to reflective and introspective:
The album met critical acclaim, with Paste Magazine rating it 9.1/10, adding: “unless your surname is Dylan, Waits, Ritter or Prine, you could face-palm yourself to death trying to pen songs half as inspired as the 10 tracks on Joe Pug’s debut full-length.”[1]