Dave Hause & The Mermaid

Dave Hause had an epiphany rewatching Goodfellas. Theres that scene in the beginning where Henry Hill says, As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. This record is my realization that, as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be in a rock and roll band.

This record is And The Mermaid. I had made a couple of records in a row in Nashville, and I was super happy with the outcomes, says Hause of 2023s Blood Harmony and 2021s Drive it Like its 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. It occurred to me how far Ive come from my roots, he says. But as he pumped electricity when playing those solo songs with his occasional band The Mermaid at his celebratory weekend festival Sing Us Home in Philly the last few years, he realized, I was just missing plugging in and turning up.

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. This is the first time Ive taken that band into the studio and been like, No matter what, damn the torpedoes, we are going to sound the way we sound. Im not going to Nashville and getting the murderers row of players.

Nearly 20 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 Hauses 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 without the last name Hause wrote on my record.

Opening support by Two Cow Garage