Dave Hause had an epiphany rewatching Goodfellas. "There’s that scene in the beginning where Henry Hill says, ‘As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.’” The Philly-bred, California-based singer-songwriter always longed to be in a different kind of mob.

“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 that rock and roll band distilled into 10 songs.”

This record is …And The Mermaid. And those 10 songs offer a welcome shock to the system, blending Hause’s signature lyrical elan and gift for surging melodies with his keening vocals and some deliciously sharp musical elbows courtesy of the titular group.