Dave Hause Unclaimed

About

Dave Hause had an epiphany rewatching Goodfellas. “There's that scene in the beginning where Henry Hill says, ‘As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.’” The Philly-bred, California-based singer-songwriter always longed to be in a different kind of mob.

“I had made a couple of records in a row in Nashville, and I was super happy with the outcomes,” says Hause of 2021’s Blood Harmony and 2023’s Drive it Like it’s Stolen, both produced by Will Hoge with top-flight session musicians. While they certainly had their muscular moments, those records were more in line with the Americana-tinged music Hause had been making as a solo artist. He ended up on several solo tours, as well as some duo outings with his brother and collaborator Tim, which necessitated stripping the songs back.

While the former leader of beloved Philly punk rockers the Loved Ones has been no stranger to going to 11, it had been a minute since The Mermaid — whose current iteration includes brother Tim Hause on guitar and vocals, bassist Luke Preston, keyboardist Mark Masefield, and drummer Kevin Conroy — had done a proper tour.  And they’d never recorded together.

Nearly 30 years into his career, the collection also represents a number of other firsts. It is the first album in his solo career where the entire band has been invited to contribute to the songwriting process. It contains Hause’s first cover on an album of originals, a harmony-laden rendition of “Bible Passages” by Tim McIlrath of Rise Against — “I finally was just totally comfortable enough to put a song I believe in that someone else wrote on my record." 

• 21JANDave Hause + Sincere Engineer

  Utrecht · De Helling

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