The frontman-turned-solo-artist seems to be a fairly popular thing at the moment; Frank Turner and Chuck Ragan to name two of the most successful. While DAVE HAUSE isn’t leaving The Loved Ones to focus on this, his first solo effort, he’s currently touring the US in support of it before returning to make headway on The next The Loved Ones release.
The release is a bit of a mixed bag at times, and it does maintain a feel of leftovers from writing for another band. This isn’t a loaded statement though – there are some great tracks on the album. Starting with the sultry ‘Prague (Revive Me)’, Hause’s songwriting seems to be at an all-time high. There are also lighter tracks Hause could never get away with in his band, such as the cheery singalong of ‘C’mon Kid’. There is definitely some of The Loved Ones‘ frenetic sound in the album though – ‘Rankers And Rotters’ wouldn’t feel out of place on ‘Build And Burn’, but it does hold its own ground on ‘Resolutions’.
What differentiates ‘Resolutions’ from a TLO album is that it’s measured in its insistence. There’s a perfect level of balance, with even the heavier songs sounding perfectly restrained. None of the tracks are all-out punk rock in either sound or temperament, and this holding back brings out Hause’s ability as a songwriter. Nothing demonstrates this better than the bittersweet ‘Meet Me At The Lanes’; a sepia-tinted narrative of getting older and waning friendships. The track has a life-affirming quality to it that best sums up Hause’s poignant style.
Unfortunately, the album sometimes feels a bit too much like a collection of songs rather than an album – the benefit of having a strong variation of sound also means that the album lacks in direction and flow. There’s also the difficulty in separating Dave Hause from The Loved Ones – one of the most distinctive voices in punk rock, he has the sound of pure Americana in his throat. The problem is that the ties between Hause’s voice and The Loved Ones are too strong to break, so his solo effort is in some way too comparable, even without an identical sound.
This isn’t overly detrimental though. The album consists of some fantastic tracks that will come alive at his gigs. There’s a sense the solo musings benefit from being purely his and even from such a recognisable voice, there’s something different to what Dave Hause is saying this time.
JOSIE MARTIN