Singles + EPs

EP Review: Deaf Havana

[EP: It’s Called the Easy Life]
[Label: A Wolf at Your Door Records]

Do boring places encourage the enthusiasm of interesting bands? It’s widely recognised that Muse was born in Devon, the place that everyone’s parents think it would be nice to retire to. Mclusky hailed from Wales which (from my sketchy memory of a rather depressing family holiday) boasts gloomy pubs and stretches of dour grassland that only Bill Oddie would find heart-racing. And think of the poor boys in Arctic Monkeys – before they jumped into bed with MTV, they had to walk the streets in the slum that is Sheffield. So, given that Deaf Havana proudly boast their Norfolk upbringing, can we anticipate something that goes against the grain of quiet, rural life? Judging by their debut EP, yes.

With track names taking a leaf out of the Don Cabellero textbook of amusing sentences, ‘It’s Called The Easy Life’ is a twenty-minute blast through a whole load of inspirations and sounds, all feverish and exciting, and the majority of which can be credited to trailblazing UK bands. Ryan Mellor demonstrates a thoroughly capable vocal job, sounding in some places almost exactly like Gallows’ Frank Carter on opening track ‘This Afternoon Was A Total Disaster’. However, vocal lines are successfully diced up a little bit with rising chorus melodies that break up the heaviness and give the songs a catchy, anthemic feel. There are also some more experimental group vocals from James Veck-Gilodi (guitars) and Tom Ogden (drums) a la SikTh.

Despite the turbulence of the opener the band give hints to a more tongue-in-cheek persona on tracks such as ‘Keepin’ It Sunny Side Up’, where the opening couplet “Hey there girls let’s see ya moves / My name’s Ricky Bobby and I like your boobs” somehow manages to avoid sounding like a terrible Dizzee Rascal line; instead forcing a shrewd smirk from any upstadning member of the public who has seen someone like Mr. Bobby work his magic on the dancefloor of your local club. Furthermore, in a bid to impress Christopher Walken, the track has a fucking cowbell in it, that’s how rock and roll these kids are.

Even when you think things are going to get all soft ballad on your arse with ‘The Tune Of ID (So She Doesn’t Know It’s About Her)’, the weak intro is thrown away and forgotten about once the guitars really kick in, raw and surprisingly heartfelt and it all leads to a pretty powerful chorus full of screams and clean cut vocals. Whilst not an original technique (UK bands such as Enter Shikari and Funeral for a Friend have been writing songs like this for a while) it all sounds accomplished and has just the right amount of intensity and zest to make it a simply enjoyable listen.

Whilst it might be brief, ‘It’s Called the Easy Life’ is a short sucker-punch of exciting riffs and hardcore screams that never fail in exciting the blood pressure. It might not be a completely fresh sound, but it’s a promising start, and most importantly they sound like a band that are taking great enjoyment in the creation of their music. But, I suppose if you’re from Norfolk then anything’s got to beat visiting a cold, dismal beach on a rainy, English summer day.

For Fans Of: Glassjaw, Gallows, Enter Shikari

Band Link:
Deaf Havana

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