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. 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 5th, and Saturday, May 6th at Manayunk’s Venice Island in Philadelphia. 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.
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.
‘Drive It Like It’s Stolen’ tracklisting:
01. Cheap Seats (New Years Day, NYC, 2042)
02. Pedal Down
03. Damn Personal
04. Low
05. Chainsaweyes
06. Hazard Lights
07. Drive It Like It’s Stolen
08. Lashingout
09. Tarnish
10. The Vulture
Dave Hause will be making the following appearances during 2023. Dates below with more to be added soon.
April 28th – Faces Brewing Co. – Malden, MA (SOLD OUT)
April 29th – Faces Brewing Co. – Malden, MA (SOLD OUT)
May 5th – Sing Us Home Festival – Philadelphia, PA
May 6th – Sing Us Home Festival – Philadelphia, PA
June 08th – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
June 09th – Radio Room – Greenville, SC
June 10th – Eddie’s Attic – Decatur, GA
June 13th – McGonigel’s Mucky Duck – Houston, TX
June 15th – 3TEN Austin City Limits Live – Austin, TX
June 16th – The Wild Detectives – Dallas, TX
August 13th – Four Chord Music Festival – Washington, PA
September 21st – Lodge Room Highland Park – Los Angeles, CA
September 22nd – Belly Up – Solana Beach, CA
September 23rd – Pappy & Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA