ALBUM REVIEW: WE’RE NEVER GETTING OUT BY DEAF HAVANA

Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-Levi

Deaf Havana have released the ultimate indie-rock existential crisis in 12 songs. The central concerns in this album ‘We're Never Getting Out’ are: ‘When did I get old and when did that happen?’ and ‘break-ups – why? Was it me?’ whether it be friends or spouses. This album’s subject matter may not be to everyone’s taste as the lyrics are heavy, but if you have been through that situation when you realise that adulting is now a thing and experienced a break-up then you’ll relate to the fine songwriting of facing life as it really is.

Deaf Havana are an English alternative indie-rock band. The core duo of the band are brothers James Veck-Gilodi and Matthew Veck-Gilodi. It is James Veck-Gilodi who is the primary songwriter and he is exposing that mid-life crisis point on this album. Deaf Havana are known for their ability to shift their sonic palettes and musical style. And ‘We're Never Getting Out’ is no different with the songwriting and sonic shifts in their sound. The songwriter must be respected for the sheer talent involved in this ability to adapt. This band possesses an audacity and fearlessness to throw out the playbook every time they sit down to write music.

The album opens with ‘Life In Forward Motion’ and it launches straight into the heavy subject matter about the meaning of life whether there is any meaning because it’s getting further away? The shadow of life “weighs me down like granite” and “living should be easy/but sometimes it feels a curse”. So, this is the start but this heaviness of is wrapped up in the most indie-rock sonic vibe. Sounds happy but isn’t.

The song ‘Carousel’ is about “spinning out and going nowhere” and it’s a glorious indie-rock track with the best chorus you will hear that does keep the song “grounded’’. It is followed by ‘Break’, a song about denying change that age brings and the lamenting of “turning into something I hate” and life being “a fever dream I cannot escape” and how he is “hanging on 'til I break”. The following song ‘Lawn Tennis’ is about how you lose friends during the growing up process. It also states that he does not want “the normal life” just yet. It’s a tongue-in-cheek ode to realisation of “losing friends to a perfect lawn, like there’s nothing more to life”.

I guess that by this point in the album, you might be worried about the darker lyrical content. But it gets darker in ‘Car Crash’. The song is a beautiful rock-ballad and it’s a real slow-burner. The melody and lyrics swirl through its negative relationship space with a more even-handed assessment of dissatisfaction from both parties that makes the song work. It’s a “sad boy summer” on this song and it’s written beautifully. 

The songs ‘Hurts To Be Lonely’ and ‘Frida 1939’ are about the role of memory and reflects on the impact of substance abuse and the imprisonment of not facing reality square on. The song ‘Dog’ is a more upbeat melody with the metaphor about his relationship as he is the “like a dog who will never leave your side” as he tries to run from the “devil I know” but he lies about that love he allegedly feels. Then, ‘Cigarettes & Hotel Beds’ is a wonderful pop-rock song with a huge chorus.

The song ‘We’re Never Getting Out’ is the existential punch in the album’s heart with its odd instrumentation and jaunty beat and light distortion. He was the cool kid “a spineless boy” but no more as that old lifestyle “will eat you whole” as you “chase ghosts”. The song ‘Tracing Lines’ is a gentle squall of electric guitar that has a jaunty drumbeat and it’s about how you don’t learn much in life and often end up back where you started. It’s a truism of life that every generation learns and it’s a painful experience. James Veck-Gilodi muses on the situation, addressing his ability to waste opportunity asking “where did all the time go?”

The album closes out with ‘I’ll Be Around’ which recognises that writing songs will not save him. The song, is full of regret, guilt and remorse that comes from his bad behaviour in a relationship. It’s not an easy lesson to hear or learn as the stripped out ending bares his soul at the end. It also notes that fighting the truth and the desire to end things amicably is a hard road to take.

Deaf Havana’s perspective on the fragility of life is devastatingly sad, but they have found a way to embed it in a shimmering indie-rock soundscape that is so easy on the ears. ‘We're Never Getting Out’ highlights and examines every anxiety, every step backwards, every wrench of the heart that comes with realising the life you thought you had built has crumbled around you and the songs paint this in vivid colour. It’s an album that is heavy going, heart-breaking and spine-tinglingly honest in equal measure.