The first thing I thought when I hit the play button on this album was ‘That’s Deaf Havana?’ either I’ve been mistaking them for someone else in the past or they have changed drastically, so I had to go and investigate… A few Youtube videos later and I discover that I didn’t know who they were at all! What a journo I am! I am reliably informed that the band was formed in 2005 at college in Kings Lynn, Norfolk and consists of 4 members, 3 of which are from the original line up, and this is their third full studio album.
The opening track, ‘Boston square’ reminded me of the legend that is, Bruce Springsteen and then I discovered on my journalistic *coughGooglesearchcough* research that Deaf Havana have recently been an opening act for The Boss himself at the Hard Rock Calling festival.
After the flying start, the rest of the CD does kind of shift a gear and turn into something like the Jimmy Eat World’s and Fall Out Boy’s of the music industry. Not necessarily a bad thing, but when they can belt out tunes like Boston Square then the radio friendly pop-esque tracks are kind of a let down for me personally. I know that millions of people disagree or those other bands would never have been heard of! (I blame my old age!)
The album is full of emotionally driven lyrics and vocalised exceptionally well by front man James Veck-Gilodi; especially evident in the tracks ‘Speeding Cars’; a surprisingly up-tempo track for such deep lyrics, and the beautifully written, ‘Kings Road Ghosts’ struck a familiar chord with me having just recently been back to the place where I grew up.
So for me, the two stronger tracks are most definitely the first and the last as to close the album is ‘Caro Padre’; a very passionate ballad written about an absent father with lyrics ; “Even though I feel like I’m alright, a part of me is missing when I close my eyes. It’s clear you shine through me with every mistake that can’t be undone, it’s clear what I’ve become.”
Overall a decent album which a lot of rock fans will love. I do like a few of the tracks but the rest lack a certain individuality, there’s a spark missing somewhere that I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe those creases will be ironed out by album #4?
Sue
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