Norfolk, England rock outfit Deaf Havana debuted with a sound that combined post-hardcore with anthemic pop-punk, akin to contemporaries like We Are the Ocean, the Blackout, and Young Guns. Later, their sound would change drastically, echoing the hard rock anthems of acts like Daughtry, Shinedown, and Lifehouse.

Formed in 2005 while the band -- lead vocalist Ryan Mellor, guitarists James Veck-Gilodi and Sebastian Spitz (later replaced by Chris Pennells), bassist Lee Wilson, and drummer Tom Ogden -- were students at college in Kings Lynn, Deaf Havana signed to A Wolf at Your Door Records in 2008. A year later, they recorded their first album, Meet Me Halfway, At Least, with producer Matt O'Grady (You Me at Six). Mellor parted ways with the band due to personal reasons prior to the recording of their sophomore release and was replaced by Veck-Gilodi on lead vocals. Fools and Worthless Liars arrived in 2011 and marked the start of their sonic shift. They issued a deluxe version of the album with a bonus disc of the entire LP re-recorded in a stripped-back acoustic manner that brought out the musicianship and emotion of their usually aggressive sound. The band added Veck-Gilodi's brother Matthew to bolster their guitar options, on both acoustic and electric, and also installed Max Britton on piano to further expand their sound.

Sessions for their third record followed Deaf Havana's acoustic shows at London's intimate Union Chapel, and Old Souls appeared in 2013. Their sound had shifted even further from the heavy riffs of their debut to a more considered pop/rock sound, complete with Springsteen references and harmonized choruses. After the release of Old Souls, the band almost broke up, but they decided to persevere. Four years later, they released their fourth studio album, All These Countless Nights, in January 2017. Wasting little time, the group returned to the studio and produced another effort, which quickly arrived in 2018. The pop-leaning Rituals landed that August, peaking in the Top Ten on the U.K. charts.

Following 2019's Live at Brixton Academy, and a lengthy tour in Asia and Australia, acrimony within the band led Deaf Havana to halt all activity on their return. They came very close to breaking up completely, but a simple request to borrow a microphone resulted in the Veck-Gilodi brothers writing and recording together once again. Ultimately, in 2021, they decided to forge on without Wilson, Ogden and Britton, and their first single as a duo, the radio-friendly "Going Clear," was issued in January 2022. It anticipated a sixth Deaf Havana studio album, The Present Is a Foreign Land, which saw release later that year. ~ Scott Kerr & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi