Dave Hause – Resolutions

I remember sitting at Brixx Bar and Grill last April at a local band’s CD release show talking to some friends about Dave Hause’s solo material. I had heard a few live tunes – Pray For Tucson and C’Mon Kid – and was praising him like nobody’s business. This was a Thursday night. The next Monday I found out that Hause had made a last minute stop in Edmonton the Saturday prior. The irony was not lost on me and the disappointment of missing that show has yet to disappear.

Almost a year later I’m finally listening to The Loved Ones’ front-man’s solo debut and I’m glad to say it was worth the wait.

Now even though this is a solo album, Resolutions isn’t like the most of the albums put out by punk front man gone solo. This isn’t another Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry, Frank Turner, Joey Cape or Tony Sly. This isn’t just a straight up acoustic album; Hause has created a full blown album here. There are times when it is acoustic at its heart, but Resolutions is full of lush instrumentation. There are electric guitars (sometimes laid down by Pete Steinkopf of The Souls), drums, organs, pianos, various percussions, mandolin and hell; Chris Wollard even lends his vocals to a few tunes.

Oddly enough, this added instrumentation is the cause of both the successes and failures of the album. There are times when the additional padding propels the song forward. The drumming and delicate piano on Meet Me At The Lanes push the song to new heights.  The lap steel on Pray For Tucson sits nicely in the background of the track while the driving force behind Time Will Tell is basically the piano; and don’t get me started on the power of Years from Now. On the opposite end of the dice, there are times when it would be nice to just have Hause there by himself.

Take C’Mon Kid for instance. This was the first solo song I ever heard and it was originally just him and an acoustic guitar. It was beautiful, soaring and emotional. Now the track is full, loud and much more complex. It still remains a highlight of the album but at times it yearns to be more bare bones. Rankers & Rotters would fit better in a Loved Ones album and seems a little too loud and out of place here. Prague (Revive Me) is probably the biggest stumble with its gypsy vibe and Eastern European tempo.

Still, there’s much more positives to this album than negatives and the variations help keep it memorable. In the end, Resolutions is, essentially, an emotional album. The songs are not soaked in Americana likeBuild & Burn was. These songs are personal and nostalgic, telling stories of triumphs and failures, the ups and the downs of life.

I’ve been praising Hause’ solo material for close to a year now (and his Loved Ones stuff for even longer) and that was with only hearing two or three songs. I’ve now heard the full length and won’t stop praising him anytime soon.