''Genes'', from 2003, is the first album released by
Dave Couse
Dave Couse (born 1965) is an Irish musician, producer, and radio presenter best known for being the lead singer and main songwriter with the band A House.
Couse has also released three albums as a solo artist.
Early career and A House
Couse w ...
since the breakup of
A House
A House were an Irish rock band that was active in Dublin from the 1985 to 1997, and recognized for the clever, "often bitter or irony laden lyrics of frontman Dave Couse ... bolstered by the and'sseemingly effortless musicality". The single " ...
in 1997.
''Genes''
Couse released ''Genes'' on his own record label, Beep Beep. It is very much a solo affair, with all songs but one written by Couse, and mostly performed by Couse, although he enlisted old friend
Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Stephen Collins (born 23 August 1959) is a Scottish musician, producer and record label owner from Edinburgh, Scotland. Collins was the lead singer for the 1980s post-punk band Orange Juice, which he co-founded. After the group split in ...
as producer. Many of the songs are also very personal, with Couse himself referring to it as "somewhat introspective affair".
An important theme is that of family, as represented by the title and also the artwork (which seems to include old family photos), and specifically of Couse's relationship to his father who had only recently died when the record was being made. The song that Couse didn't write is
John Cale's "
(I Keep a) Close Watch" (listed as "Close Watch" on ''Genes''), which addresses the fear of loss associated with love. This song is for many the highlight of the record, perhaps because the indirection of a cover performance helped Couse in the face of his grief over his father coupled with the apprehension of becoming a father himself.
John Cale and
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...
are also significant musical influences on Couse.
[Couse cites Cale, The Velvet Underground, and Lou Reed as influences o]
his myspace page
A cover of the Velvet Underground song "Sunday Morning" shows up on one of his later singles ("Batman and Robin", 2005).
A difficult, private record, released on a small, self-managed label, ''Genes'' did not sell very well. However, as the first move in a solo career, whose next step, the album
The World Should Know, would be nominated for a couple of
Meteor Awards
A Meteor Ireland Music Award was an accolade bestowed upon professionals in the music industry in Ireland and further afield. They had been bestowed each year since 2001, replacing the Irish Recorded Music Association, IRMA Ireland Music Award ...
, ''Genes'' was significant to Couse and to fans of A House who had been waiting to hear from him since 1997.
[Couse and Fergal Bunbury from A House had worked on a project named Lokomotiv which generated one single release in 2000.]
Track listing
# Satisfaction
# At The End Of The Day
# Will It Ever Stop Raining
# Familiar Feeling
# I Almost Touched You
# For Sale
# If This Is Where Love Is
# Self Obsessed
# You Don't Know What Love Is
# Everybody's Got Their Own Troubles
# Intoxicating
# Close Watch
# Peaceful...
(All songs written by Couse except "Close Watch", written by John Cale.)
Notes
References
External links
Dave Couse myspaceA House Website
{{Authority control
2003 debut albums
Dave Couse albums