The filmmaker-turned-troubadour explores inheritance and impulse in his devastating new single.
Dennis Hauck, the critically-acclaimed filmmaker, has fully embraced his role as a dark romantic storyteller with his latest single, ‘Natural Heart’ b/w ‘Nature of the Beast.’
Known for his cinematic work, Hauck’s return to music, his first creative love, was tragically sparked by the death of his friend, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
This event reawakened the songwriter within him, leading to a series of recordings that channel a distinctly Western Noir sensibility.
This new single is a powerful testament to his evolution, blending the literate grit of Charles Bukowski with the melodic gravity of Leonard Cohen.
The A-side, ‘Natural Heart,’ is a masterclass in metaphorical songwriting. Over eleven verses, Hauck builds a mercurial country soundscape brimming with unhinged danger, using weather and climate as potent metaphors for inherited emotional turmoil.
The song’s narrative power hits its peak when a daughter appears at the narrator’s door, revealing the tragic consequence of this inheritance: “She’s got a natural heart/That’s the tragic part.”
Hauck’s delivery is impassioned, shifting from a talk-sing coolness to a raw, theatrical declaration.
On the flip side, Hauck offers a stunning reimagining of his previously released rocker, ‘Nature of the Beast.’ Stripped of its uptempo drive, the alternate version is rendered starkly elegant with brushed drums, elegiac piano, and flourishes of classical violin.
This transformation highlights Hauck’s core strength as a storyteller; the same song, placed in a new arrangement, reveals different shades of drama and despair, his vocal delivery now that of a weary narrator with blood-shot eyes.
Recorded live in Nashville with minimal overdubs, the single embodies Hauck’s analog philosophy, capturing the raw immediacy of the performances.
For Hauck, a storyteller whether behind a camera or a microphone, these songs are sonic film shorts: tightly wound, visually evocative, and deeply resonant.
The limited edition 12” vinyl, hand-numbered by the artist himself, is a fittingly curated object for such a carefully crafted piece of art.
