In this insatiable world, we’re always after new material from our favourite artists so I was delighted to hear that one of the albums of the year All These Countless Nights by Deaf Havana was being re-worked completely. Similar to Fools and Worthless Liars, the band have totally re-recorded each track and tried to get as far away from the originals as they could. It features the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra who contribute in expanding and deconstructing the album’s critically acclaimed melodic qualities in equal measure with stunning effect.

Straight away, the haunting orchestral element of "Ashes, Ashes" make it akin to a film soundtrack as lead singer James Veck-Gilodi’s strong vocals come to the fore. The original starts acoustically before exploding into life whereas this is pure orchestra with Veck-Gilodi’s powerful voice.

"Trigger" is slowed down to an acoustic simmer as opposed to the usual up-tempo version that really gets you bouncing. Totally different yet still very emotive. "L.O.V.E" is where the the band head into very different territory as this was originally very dark but has been transformed to a cool, funky, upbeat number, almost like it should be set against the smokey backdrop of a jazz bar.

One of my favourites "Happiness" starts off in a similar style as it's forbearer but slowly evolves with the guitars and is enhanced by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra who beautifully add to a song that I didn’t think could get any better.

Veck-Gilodi pours emotion into his words in "Fever", providing a chance to showcase his immense vocal range in a completely slowed down, beautiful version of the song.

Another massive change in direction is "Like a Ghost", unlike anything I’ve ever heard from the band before, it’s almost a drum and bass/dance backing track and much shorter but it somehow works.

"Pretty Low" is my favourite track on the original album and the reworked version is much slower, seeing the layers gradually building. "England" again allows Deaf Havana to try something new with a Latin American feel to the guitars and drums, which really shows off their range of musical prowess. Whilst carrying on with a similar drum track, "Seattle" doesn’t stray too far from the original until it brings in the orchestra for the finale, adding a real flourish.

One of the only love songs and saddest offerings on the album, "St.Pauls" is a faster paced, upbeat, folky track in a similar vein to "The Past Six Years" from the Fools and Worthless Liars album. "Sing" echoes this feel, carrying on in a similar ‘country’ fashion and will surely go down well with a live crowd. Album ender "Pensacola, 2013" effectively uses a mix of acoustic and heavy guitars to finish the re-imagined album with a bang.

There’s always the fear with a re-release that a band is trying to cash in on previous success but this is a superb standalone album and will be a great addition to any fan's collection. It shows how skilled and talented this band really are with such a broad range of musical styles displayed and the quality of the musicianship. Veck Gilodi’s storytelling on this album is even more prominent and with a lot of stripped back versions, you can really hear the quality of his voice. He said “if we are going to re-release a record, we really want fans to buy something worth spending their money on,” and I can confirm they’re certainly going to achieve this.

There really is something for everyone here and with these tools they will continue to grow as a band and hopefully be around for a long time to come, let’s just hope it’s not another 4 years until the next LP!

Review by Mark Lunn

TRACKLISTING

DISC ONE
ASHES TO ASHES
TRIGGER
L.O.V.E
HAPPINESS
FEVER
LIKE A GHOST
PRETTY LOW
ENGLAND
SEATTLE
ST PAUL’S
SING
PENSACOLA, 2013

BONUS TRACKS
CASSIOPEIA
ANEMOPHOBIA PART II
SICKAGO

DISC TWO
ASHES TO ASHES (REWORKED)
TRIGGER (REWORKED)
L.O.V.E (REWORKED)
HAPPINESS (REWORKED)
FEVER (REWORKED)
LIKE A GHOST (REWORKED)
PRETTY LOW (REWORKED)
ENGLAND (REWORKED)
SEATTLE (REWORKED)
ST PAUL’S (REWORKED)
SING (REWORKED)
PENSACOLA, 2013 (REWORKED)

A deluxe purple vinyl version of All These Countless Nights - Reworked is available too and is limited to just 500 signed copies.

Pre-orders are available now from:

Physical https://deafhavana.tmstor.es

Digital http://smarturl.it/ATCN_DLX