An album review on All These Countless Nights, the fourth full album from Deaf Havana.
https://vimeo.com/201310253
Text Review:
One thing you have to respect about a band is their ability to adapt after change and in the case of Deaf Havana they have definitely proved they are capable of pushing forward. After band members leaving and being unexpectedly dropped from a label and STILL continuing to make music, it’s hard not to admire Deaf Havana and their passion amidst adversity. All These Countless Nights marks the fourth full album from Deaf Havana and even after going through setbacks the band have still maintained a large fan base in the UK. As far as alternative rock goes this is a band that truly continues the standard format of the genre in a gorgeous way without trying to have a notch or gimmick. In many ways, this is the type of music that is becoming lost in a generation of indie synth pop and new nu-metal. While this may be the fourth album from a band now going ten years strong, it definitely does not appear to be just going through the motions. In the press release for All These Countless Nights, vocalist James Veck-Gilodi said: “This album needs to take us to a higher level… We appreciate the fact that everyone’s waited this out with us. It’s going to be great.”
In this album that aims to take Deaf Havana to a higher level are what feel like very personal themes including regret, alcohol abuse and memories of different places in the world and how they can change you. Even with the some of the lighter sounding tracks that you may think start out upbeat, the music you hear gets deep quickly in format and connects with the listener really hard. Since July of 2016 the band has been releasing singles from the new album and planning connecting music videos between the songs “Sing”, “Trigger” and “Fever”. The band’s forward planning and to share music from All These Countless Nights shows how a lot of thought went into what they wanted to present and their intent to go to that higher level.
Of the three singles released prior to the new album being available, “Fever” definitely sounds this most fluid and representative of the quicker style the band can bring. As far as alternative rock goes “Fever” sounds like a song that could work in today’s music scene and also back in the 90’s when alternative styles started flourishing. The drums and bass are brought forward in the mixing and it really brings out the volume in the song, especially when paired with the vocals. It brings out the chorus and the line of “having a fever in me” is easy to get in your long term memory. The three previously mentioned singles including “Fever” really cap off well because of this song. The style of “Fever” is catchy and a good listen, but it’s the deeper songs with a bit more brooding in the melody and lyrics that I feel stand out more on All These Countless Nights. The songs “L.O.V.E.”, “Seattle” and “England” while not sounding slower in pace, have a much somber and personal reflecting vibe and it sticks with you both in music and lyric.
There is a grit in the opening guitar and bass that sets a mood and while it blends into something more smooth and high noted, that rhythm doesn’t leave and it makes “England” sound like it has a sense of anger without having to scream or overdo the vocals delivery. While the singles will get All These Countless Nights attention, it’s songs like these that will make this album feel like it’s worth the time. There are a few tracks that don’t have as much of an impact even after a few listens. This is definitely an album that select songs will be played repeatedly while others not nearly as much. If there was more variety than the radio-esque alternative style and the deeper tracks it would help flesh out the album a ton, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons here in areas like lyric writing, rhythm progression and instrument work.
Sticking together through big changes and unexpected events as a band can be miserable in some ways, but it can affect your music for the better. In the case of Deaf Havana it seems like they are still capable of performing something solid no matter what happens. They’ve proven they can adapt and push forward while still holding true to their sound. Overall, All These Countless Nights has a lot of good moments and is filled with tracks that progressively get better as they go on. Deaf Havana’s push to go to a higher level is noticed in their writing and the overall feeling of this album hits home extremely hard. If you are looking for something in the alternative rock scene to connect with on a more personal level, this might be an album you can count on.
7/10
