Digipak Analysis: Deaf Havana // "Old Souls"

"Old Souls" is the third album by British alternative rock band Deaf Havana, an album which marked yet another direction change from the band to more classic rock, with hints of folk rock and chorus-driven songs. The previous record, "Fools & Worthless Liars", established the band from Hunstanton as one of the most popular current British Bands, but the change from debut album, "Meet Me Halfway, At Least" which featured the single "Friends Like These", seems like an entirely different band to what the Norfolk band's music is like today. That being said, the success of "Old Souls" is unparalleled - singles "Boston Square" and "Mildred" were Zane Lowe's Hottest Record of the World, and the album reached #9, the first Top ten album for the band. This is the original version of the Digipak, and it is one of the most simplistic designs of a digipak I own- however, it works in the bands favour and matches their ideals.

The front cover of the album features a small child running across the beach, with a small group of people in the background. The open blue skies and background create connotations of freedom. The text takes up a relatively small portion of the cover. Also the use of the child instead of an adult creates a sense of vulnerability but I see it as a humble representation of the band- themes are parallel to those utilised in lead single "Mildred" (see end), and could show that although the band face many difficulties (they recently cancelled a tour as they didn't have the funds), they still try to live a carefree life.

The inside of the digipak leaves a lot open to interpretation. It continues the themes created in the front cover by using the same background but it also contains no other images other than the open coastal scene depicted. The band hold close ties to their coastal hometown of Hunstanton (see analysis of Hunstanton Pier) and this could be why for "Old Souls" the band chose to use this coastal image. Other than this image it is blank, perhaps indicating that this is who the band are, there is nothing else to know about them, no secrets, it is all open to their audience - this matches the tracks as track "Caro Padre" is the first time that lead singer James opens up about his relationship with his Father, as well as other relations like in "Mildred", regarding an old friend. The lack of images of the artist also suggests that three albums in, the band do not need to portray themselves, despite their apparent change in style- perhaps the band could've included them wearing different apparel to connote the change from the post-hardcore genre to alternative rock, as they did in the video to "Smiles All Round" (2010) where the band are depicted wearing hoodies and appearing very "punk", but this was perhaps previously illustrated in the previous album artworks (see bottom.) An alternative consideration lends itself more towards the Uses and Gratifications model, which states that audiences seek out the media that they wish to consume, and focuses on what the audience does with the media text, rather than what the media does to audiences. Where other bands would perhaps overtly brand themselves over their covers where audiences are given a prescribed view, the blank canvas of the inside cover creates an open interpretation of the band for the audience to make their own "use" of, and decide what it symbolises in terms of the bands ideologies. This is a much more descriptive approach in which there is no set idea of the band given in the digipak, making them more accessible to wider audiences, who may feel that they can get in to the bands music for this reason.

The rear cover also continues the coastal theme and keeps the same background creating a sense of continuity to the digipak, making it aesthetically pleasing with a nice layout. The tracklist is in the same colour as the album details at the front of the digipak, and takes up very little space on the back cover, which is strange as it depicts no other scenes, so the tracks could take up more space, but the band clearly felt this was not necessary, probably as it continues the humble theme and ideals that the band creates - the audience know what songs are going to be on the album as the band have a very strong fanbase. For those who do not know the artist, again continuing the idea of the uses and gratifications model, this will not create a negative effect as it is still organised and clear, and open/revealing so the audience does not feel put off.The rear cover also has the record label at the bottom and a few copyright details, which again fit the house style of the digipak and are a common feature of any CD artwork. The audience may also recognise this record label and associate this with other acts, particularly those that do not know the artist, but knows of other acts on the same record label.

Here are the two previous album covers from the two prior LPs the band have released. Left, "Fools & Worthless Liars" (2011) contained singles "I'm A Bore, Mostly" and "Hunstanton Pier" . However, "Meet Me Halfway, At Least" (right) flaunted a much different Deaf Havana, that tended more towards heavier bands such as Enter Shikari both vocally and instrumentally. The single "Friends Like These" was the track that got the band well-known, but subsequently the bands style changed significantly, which is reflected in the artwork changes- the first album seems edgy, whereas Fools & Worthless Liars' artwork is more sophisticated, with a classic tone and much more humble appearance. The colour scheme is the more notable change from F&WL to Old Souls, with the dark colours being traded for sky blue, perhaps reflecting the change in mood of the songs, despite how some of them are still quite sad ("Everybody's Dancing and I Want To Die", "Caro Padre") - the lyrics remain quite depressing and sad yet the instrumentals are infinitely more uplifting and not as aggressive as in the earlier records. This could be a reason for the change in themes in the artwork over time.

It should be noted that the theme of children continues from the digipaks into the music videos. The video for the lead single from "Old Souls", "Mildred (Lost A Friend)", follows two children throughout the video, one of whom bears a striking resemblance to the same child used on the front cover of "Fools & Worthless Liars", It does depict the children as doing some adult tasks, such as working in an office, and does also feature several shots by a beach, continuing the coastal theme of this digipak. The video, like the digipak, also does not feature the band at all, (although "22" and most of their other videos have featured them, for instance Hunstanton Pier which I analysed) enhancing the humble representations suggested by the designs. Furthermore, it could show how the band, although tied down with day to day life, still live like children, in their own world (particularly shown by the very last shot in the video, where Earth is shown in the sky above the two "friends" that the song talks about). The song itself is about an old friend of the guitarist who they no longer see, as said in an interview on Radio 1, (contrary to belief that it was about Ryan Mellor, the screamer vocalist who left the band), and corresponds to what I was saying for the middle section of the digipak and Caro Padre, where the band are being open and have nothing to hide about themselves and their relations with others.

- Althusser - child - audience represent self in text.
- misrepresentation