Dave Hause – Bury Me In Philly

Dave Hause has finally made it to his third full length release, in his own words “I left Paint it Black after 1.5, The Loved Ones made two then drifted apart, and at points I wondered if I’d ever finish writing this one”. I am very glad that he did finish writing Bury Me in Philly; anyone that knows me knows I am a massive fan of The Loved Ones and now Dave Hause’s solo work. I reviewed his previous album Devour here and gave it a 9.5/10 – the highest rating I have given any album. That album was amazingly well structured and almost sounded like a well written essay; something I loved but others didn’t seem to agree was a good thing for an album. While this album maintains good flow between songs, it isn’t structured as rigidly as Devour, potentially making it more accessible to casual listeners.

The album kicks off with the song “With You” which may not seem particularly loud and fast, but it is probably the closest thing to “punk” that Dave has released since The Loved Ones. At first listen the song sounds like it is for a person, with the chorus “ache with me and I’ll ache with you” but on further listening, it seems like it is for his fans. Opening with the lyrics “[…] I couldn’t stand not seeing you one more time before we’re dead. I want to turn it on and turn you up again while we’re still in our prime. I want the next thirty minutes to feel like a fucking crime.” the song is clearly out to welcome listeners to the album; but also welcome audiences to shows. Interestingly, he uses a similar greeting on his previous album with the opening line “Welcome my friends to the show; dance and drink if you’d like or sit back and take notes”; it is unclear if this is a reference back to Devour or just something that he found worked, but I like it.

While we are on the topic of references, I may as well discuss Dave Hause’s status as the king of referencing (in my opinion) and how he has done it on this album. Since the first Loved Ones album when he referenced the first song back in the last song, Dave has been expertly referencing his own work in every release; even on The All Brights EP. To isolate some examples from this album (without giving away the specific lyrics); ‘Devine Lorraine’ references both ‘Dirty Fucker’ and ‘The Shine’, ‘The Ride’ references “The Great Depression’, ‘Helluva Home’ [indirectly] references ‘Autism Vaccine Blues’ and ‘Wild Love’ references ‘Devour’ and ‘Bricks’. I love this referencing, it brings up memories of old songs and makes you think about the link between songs, making for a unique listening experience for the die hard fans. It’s something that wouldn’t be picked up by the casual listener, particularly the older references, and as a long time fan it almost makes you feel you have an ‘edge’ over the listeners that can take or leave the music; it adds depth.

After a few lengthy paragraphs this review is starting to drag on so I’ll touch on a couple of specific songs then wrap it up. The album’s fourth song, ‘The Mermaid’ sounds out of place on this album at first listen; it is certainly a bit more poppy than the rest with an interesting use of keyboard throughout. I wasn’t sure about the song when I first heard it but after hearing the album through quite a number of times it is actually my favourite song on the album, it’s a great pick-me-up song and before you know it you are singing along. A few songs deeper in the album at number seven sits ‘Dirty Fucker’; it is unlike Dave to be so brash in his song naming and lyricism, clearly he had a bone to pick with someone. Based on complete speculation, I feel like the lyrics “it’s always some dirty fucker. Always some corner cutting son of a bitch. Who’s trying to rip it up, trying to mess around. You rip me off man, I thought we were down.” have been written about an experience in the music industry, or Dave’s construction business that failed in the global financial crisis. However, with the election of Donald Trump as US President last year, this song has clearly become indirectly about him and his administration; with Dave selling ‘Dirty Fucker’ shirts depicting President Trump.

Overall I feel like Dave Hause’s third full length, Bury Me in Philly, is his most accessible to the casual listener and an excellent album for die hard fans. The use of references to his more dark album ‘Devour’ are excellent and let you know that he hasn’t written this as a stand alone album. The lyrics don’t hit quite as hard as ‘Devour’ and the structure isn’t quite as profound; I think the only reason I am not giving this album an 8.5 or 9 is because of the brilliance that was ‘Devour’ and knowing what Dave is capable of.

8/10

Matt Power
15 April 2017