Blood Harmony Records, Soundly Music and acclaimed Philadelphia-bred singer-songwriter Dave Hause are excited to announce the release of Drive It Like It’s Stolen, Hause’s sixth full-length solo album (stream and purchase the album HERE). Produced by Will Hoge, Drive It Like It’s Stolen features 10 songs that overflow with Hause’s trademark urgency and passion, shimmering with a truth that reflects the harsh realities of life as well the intermittent jolts of joy that punctuate it. Earnest and heartfelt, raw and real as anything he’s ever written before, there’s also a subtle yet significant difference on this LP — here, Hause delves into a more fictional type of storytelling to create what he terms “post-apocalyptic Americana.”
Additionally, Hause’s Sing Us Home Festival will take place next weekend on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6 at Manayunk’s Venice Island inPhiladelphia. The festival will feature a unique show from Hause, Kathleen Edwards and Craig Finn (The Hold Steady), along with performances by Hause and his band, The Mermaid, alt-country rockers Drive-By Truckers, Tim Hause, Lydia Loveless, Crossed Keys, The Tisburys, Ocean Avenue Stompers, and Philadelphia ska-favorites Catbite. VIP/GA ticketing and parking options are on sale now, and more information can be found on Sing Us Home’s official page HERE.
The third release on the Hause brothers’ own Blood Harmony Records label, Drive It Like It’s Stolen, Dave Hause’s sixth solo LP, shakes up expectations while at the same time builds off the sound and reputation the celebrated songwriter has established for himself over the past decade or so and presents a new, creative shift in songwriting and scope. On the new album, Hause’s fears and anxiety of being a parent in modern day America — along with his ever-developing worldview — is explored throughout its 10 moving songs.
From the album’s haunting and ominous opener, “Cheap Seats (New Year’s Day, NYC, 2042),” a dream of escape from a ravaged New York City set two decades in the future and “Damn Personal,” a boisterous blue collar anthem about lost friends that’s charged with electric emotion to “chainsaweyes” and “lashingout,” two tracks that merge personal anxieties with universal horrors, Drive It Like It’s Stolen presents a weary and apocalyptic quasi-reality that examines the new American city, parenthood, and our individual places in society, post-pandemic. Elsewhere, “Tarnish,” a song about both a life lived and one still being lived and “The Vulture,” a song that harks back to the defiance that dominated Kick but which is recast with his children in mind, cements the thematic shift Hause is making on this record. These songs may still be for Hause, but they’re increasingly less about him.
“My life is getting increasingly less interesting,” he smiles. “And that’s by design. You want to be steady, you want to be at a baseball practice or taking your kids to gymnastics or whatever it is. You don’t want to necessarily be staring into the abyss all the time and trying to determine your existential weight. I don’t want my life to become fodder for songs — I want my creativity to be the fodder for songs.” With this particular car ride, then, Hause is en route to a whole new world. Whether real or imagined or a combination of both, it’s time to buckle up for the ride.
Dave Hause will be making the following appearances during 2023. Dates below with more to be added soon.
Dave Hause online:
Official | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bandcamp | Apple Music | Spotify
APRIL
28 — Malden, MA — Faces Brewing Co. (SOLD OUT)
29 — Malden, MA —Faces Brewing Co. (SOLD OUT)
MAY
5–6 — Philadelphia, PA — Sing Us Home Festival
JUNE
08 — Carrboro, NC — Cat’s Cradle
09 — Greenville, SC — Radio Room
10 — Decatur, GA — Eddie’s Attic
13 — Houston, TX — McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
15 — Austin, TX — 3TEN Austin City Limits Live
16 — Dallas, TX — The Wild Detectives
AUGUST
13 — Washington, PA — Four Chord Music Festival
SEPTEMBER
21 — Los Angeles, CA — Lodge Room Highland Park
22 — Solana Beach, CA — Belly Up
23 — Pioneertown, CA — Pappy & Harriet’s
Credit: Jesse DeFlorio
