Dave Hause
Bury Me In Philly
(Rise Records)
The career track from punk rocker to folk punker has been a successful one over the past decade or so turning out some pretty solid vets. But for every Chuck Ragan or Frank Turner there are a slew more who just can’t pull of the transition. One reason? It’s pretty difficult to hide mediocre lyrics and shitty pipes once you turn the volume down.
Dave Hause, formerly of The Loved Ones and Paint It Back before that, has neither of those problems. As he demonstrated with his first two solo records and once again with the brilliant Bury Me In Philly, Hause is a smart songwriter, deftly weaving wit and heart-on-his sleeve emotions throughout; He also happens to own a stellar voice, one that is complimented perfectly with the at-times mellower vibe of his solo efforts.
As an album, Bury Me In Philly is a love letter to Hause’s hometown of Philadelphia and the City of Brotherly Love is all over this record like whiz on cheesesteak (and yes, I hate myself for writing that). From the working-class snarl on a track like “Dirty Fucker” or the driving album opener “With You” to some of the self-deprecating lines in a song like “The Flinch,” Hause is clearly a product of the perineal underdog city. He even turned to a childhood hero and Philly legend, The Hooters’ Eric Bazilian, to help produce this one (I swear that’s The Hooters hallmark melodica heard at the beginning of “Helluva Home”).
Over the course of the two Loved Ones LPs, Hause showed he was a good-to-great songwriter. As Bury Me In Philly proves, he’s quickly evolved into one of the genre’s best.
Purchase the album here: Physical | iTunes
