The Drunken Hearts Debut Video For, “Fire in a House”

The Drunken Hearts, in support of its new album ‘Wheels of The City’, are premiering a new music video to “Fire in a House,” exclusively on American Songwriter.

The five-man band from the Boulder/Denver area of Colorado carry a mountain spirit into its music and mix it with a 90s rock blend, that is eerily reminiscent of Pearl Jam — due in large part to the vocals of Andrew McConathy.

The inspiration for the track came from a real-life experience that McConathy saw happen from the outside looking in.

“This song came to me after hearing of a fellow musician’s rather startling breakup with his band mate, and serves as a harsh reminder that even the most fairy tale relationships can come to an end. If you don’t watch out, it can burn down the whole damn town,” he said.

The video mixes an expansive terrain with personal attention to the band, making for a tremendous blend of narrative and nuance.

The finer details were not by happenstance, according to drummer Alex Johnson.

“We wanted to lend a cinematic element to the story of not only this song, but to the album as a whole,” Johnson said. “We liked opening the video with the expansive natural beauty of the Rockies and beneath that, a couple’s strained relationship. The juxtaposition illustrates multiple messages, but mainly that life is both beautiful and painful all at once, and it’s how we choose to live our lives and deal with these things that ultimately defines us.” 

The title track of the album was inspired by Jack Kerouac’s “Vanishing American Hobo,” which was written in 1960. The song, ‘Wheels of the City’ examines the cultural paradigm between the homeless, health insurance-less citizens of America and an opposing population who seemingly wish to leave their brothers and sisters helpless, and build a wall to keep freedom and opportunity at bay and weak against the overbearing patriarchy who wishes to repress them.

The band is closing its tour of the country with stops at famed venues and festivals along the way and is set to perform a slew of shows with Yonder Mountain String Band during this album release cycle.

The Drunken Hearts Wheels of the City Tour Dates:

11/13 Wed – Baltimore, MD – The 8×10* 

11/14 Thu – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl* 

11/15 Fri – Ardmore, PA – The Ardmore Music Hall* 

11/16 Sat – Boulder, CO – The Fox Theatre
11/17 Sun – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios* 

11/19 Tue – Greenfield, MA – Hawks & Reed PAC*

11/21 Thu – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall* 

11/22 Fri – Pawtucket, RI – The Met*

11/23 Sat – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall* 

11/24 Sun – York, PA – The Capitol Theatre*