DEAF HAVANA - THE PRESENT IS A FOREIGN LAND
On July 15, the alternative rock band Deaf Havana released The Present Is A Foreign Land. While this is the band’s sixth studio album, this is their first studio album as a duo, consisting of members James and Matthew Veck-Gilodi. In the past, the band had released music considered more hardcore, but they have come to embrace chiller approaches as the number of members have decreased.
‘Pocari Sweet’ is the intro song that starts as quietly ambient and then crescendos into soft vocals and a piano lead. About a minute in, drums arrive, and James starts belting.
Throughout the song, there is a slow-burning build-up to the end, with the closing lyrics, “Good god this is as low as it gets/And how the hell do I come back from this?” Seamlessly transitioning into ‘19Dreams’, the piano continues with an electronic backbeat. In the chorus, James truly loosens his voice—accompanied by live drums and an anthemic background vocals—singing, “Are we chasing the same dreams I had/When I was 19?” It’s an anthem of late adolescence, reflecting on his wishes during his last year as a teenager and as an early young adult.
‘I Put You Through Hell’ has an 808 beat and an eeriness that shifts states into regrets. The guitar gets a little grittier as well and the drums a little more nuanced. This song becomes a plead for James that he’ll try to make things okay after what he’s done. An instrumental-filled outro gives the listeners time to ponder whether he’ll live up to those promises. ‘Nevermind’ is an acoustic-based track that has James rejecting the idea of God and not trusting himself, especially without his loved one. He sings, “’Cause I’ve been on a losing streak/My heart’s made of stone and I can’t trust my own damn feet.”
‘On the Wire’ is a metaphor of James seemingly walking on a tightrope not just at risk of falling, but at risk of getting tied up in it in the process. He mentions God again, that he’s lost faith, but wants to believe in him to save him. A choir comes in the last chorus to lift himself up higher. ‘Trying / Falling’ is another acoustic-based song, one in which he’s wishing to receive help. He sings that he’s at least trying, and that he’s not just falling in general, but also falling out of love.
‘Someone / Somewhere’ is a dance track featuring the female duo IDER, who join the song in a reverbed chorus. They sing, “See how we fall/After all, we’re just strangers.” This song is a stand-out because these vocals add refreshing and interesting sounds to this album. ‘Help’ is an admittance of James’s bad habits, such as staying up late, leading him to a place where he needs support from others to get through. He describes his head to an “ocean of misery” that he’s “drowning in defeat”.
‘The Present Is a Foreign Land’, the title track, describes the feeling that it’s harder to live in the present than in the past or the future. James sings, “What’s time but pressure in a number?” The synth-based and slow-burning ‘Kids’ evokes a sense of nostalgia for childhood but also comfort in knowing that youth can be relived through memories. The line “And you might get lost from time to time ‘cause you’re still just a kid trying to survive” reveals that childhood wasn’t always easy, either. ‘Going Clear’ is a guitar-heavy song about not knowing what to do on the weekends, whether it’s reading, drinking, or hanging out with friends. Lastly, ‘Remember Me’ is a song that’s about a fear of not being remembered perhaps after dying or after retiring from music.
Overall, this album had potential, but the execution is a bit mediocre. The songs feel as if they have too much filler instrumental sections and too many similar lyrics — just elements to reach a standard song or album length. Deaf Havana has the skills to make quality music, but this one did not hit the mark.
Sophia Campana
★★★☆☆