Deaf Havana, Rituals – album review
The British reality TV behemoth that is Love Island has just concluded for another year, so perhaps it is the perfect time to release a record of tracks that could fill the montage sections.
Pained/smitten/heartbroken stares across the villa garden at fellow contestants can be accompanied by a lot of this, the fifth Deaf Havana record.
Guitar pop of the glittery persuasion, it uses soft vocal tones to power home its messages and create sing-alongs with screaming, adoring fans.
The modern equivalent of power ballads, this soars on a strange plane that doesn't quite fit pop music but neither does it ramp up the volume into rock either.
It is perhaps this genre straddling that makes it so difficult to relate to. It's radio music, definitely, particularly for this brighter period of the year. Yet who it quite relates to is a tricky conundrum.
It would be lazy and unfair to just label it 'for teenage girls'. That's not the case. These guys have built up a large fanbase over the past four records that saw 2013's Old Souls reach the UK Top 10, and last year's All These Countless Nights break the Top 5.
But when we have pondering tracks with a soft all-over, let alone underbelly, feel like Evil it is hard to imagine too many people getting super excited this time around. The crux of the song is powered along by smooth synths that build and fade away slowly and emotively. Not one for you if chart music ain't your bag.
Poppy choruses ping up throughout. The upbeat tempo of Ritual fits this bracket nicely. Its uplifting and happy, but it lacks depth on the flipside.
Lacking depth troubles much of what's here. The sullen Fear. The beat-heavy Worship with another pop-hook chorus. The electro-funk of Hell. There's only so much production music can take before it tends to lose its identity entirely.
Established fans of the Norfolk five-piece will love this. But those who've heard the name and listen in out of interest might not hang around for too long. Its shallow nature will probably be reciprocated by listeners' attention spans.
A writing process that suits singles, but not records, perhaps.
Rating: 4/10
Deaf Havana will be signing copies for the new album on a tour of HMV stores following its release. They stop off at Birmingham's HMV in The Bullring on August 8 at 1pm.
