The Night Flight Orchestra – Aeromantic II
Release Date: 3rd September 2021
Label: Nuclear Blast
Order/Stream
Genre: Melodic Rock, AOR.
FFO: Foreigner, Boston, WET.
Review By: Ken Love
Right. Cards on the table. I adore The Night Flight Orchestra. Unreservedly. I’ve followed this band from their debut, ‘Internal Affairs’ through to this, their fifth album. To me, ‘Internal Affairs’ and its’ follow up ‘Skyline Whispers’ were two of my favourite albums of the 2010s. When these came out they connected profoundly; they were playing a style of music that I absolutely love and, at that time, I hadn’t really heard it done by many modern bands, and certainly not to their standard. Similarly, I couldn’t believe that I was listening to the same vocalist who snarled his way through ‘The Chainheart Machine’ & ‘A Predators Portrait’ with Soilwork in the early ‘00s. This couldn’t be further from melodic death metal yet they both share the same vocalist. ‘Internal Affairs’ is a guitar-led classic rock affair, think Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac via 70s-era Springsteen or Jackson Brown. That record features ‘West Ruth Ave’, which is perhaps both the bands best known, and arguably best, song. It’s just fucking incredible; a song steeped in nostalgia & pulled straight from classic rock of 70s Fleetwood Mac via Derek & the Dominos. ‘Skyline Whispers’ significantly dialled up the keys & synths in the mix, drawing much more from 80s melodic rock & AOR, artists like Boston, Foreigner, Heart or Bon Jovi a mainstay of the material. ‘Skyline Whispers’ is a perfect melodic rock record to me; not least on the incredible one-two of ‘Living for the Night Time’ & ‘Stiletto’ which basically sound-tracked my life the year it was released. If you don’t smile listening to those songs then you are a literal corpse. The bands subsequent releases have been more in line with ‘Skyline Whispers’, heavy on keys & synths, more 80s AOR and less of the 70s classic rock. It has also been a case of, stylistically, more of the same. This is not a criticism – in fact the opposite – this is recognition that The Night Flight Orchestra are a ridiculously consistent band. I don’t believe they have released a poor album; when this band writes a great pop rock song, it is of unbelievable quality. It is sonic cocaine. Moreish in the extreme. I just can’t stop going back to the material; ‘Gemini’, ‘Something Mysterious’, ‘Turn to Miami’, ‘Paralysed’ ‘Divinyls’ or ‘Taurus’, they have an uncanny knack to craft perfect melodic rock that lives in your head in the best way. Their songs inspire you to dance, swagger and bellow their choruses at the top of your lungs with no care for anything except how happy they make you feel.
Now that I’ve set the scene I can tell you why ‘Aeromantic II’ is another home run. That it’s chock to the rafters with more ridiculously infectious melodic rock that will make you glow inside. This is absolutely one of the best records the band has released, perhaps their best since ‘Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough’, and comfortably one of my favourite records this year. The band only released ‘Aeromantic’ in early 2020 however COVID-19 curtailed the touring schedule for the record so the band ended up recording this follow up. ‘Aeromantic’ is a fantastic album however this follow up manages to swing with more consecutive hits than its predecessor. It’s very close though.
Violet Indigo sets the stall of the band out pretty accurately with a cacophony of swirling & driving synthesizers that bounce along with an effervescent fervour. It’s a great call to arms which is taken to the next level on the wonderful Midnight Marvellous which swaggers along with so much bombast & purpose that you’ll be punching the air when Stridd concludes the chorus “… we are the midnight marvellous, rising again from ashes to dust, we are the midnight marvellous, flaring just to combust”. The keyboard & lead guitar solos are the dictionary definition of epic, this song has a similar energy to ‘Living for the Night Time’ from ‘Skyline Whispers’. It’s just so great. How Long cuts a similar format, a driving synth line carries the song with so much intention & energy before Stridd drops another massively memorable chorus with a guitar solo that is the perfect example of how to construct a memorable solo; tasteful, melodic, infectious and utterly exciting. By the time Burn For Me & Chardonnay Nights conclude it’s obvious that the band have made a conscious effort to focus on energy with this record. There’s been no effort at this point to write any material that is either slow or introspective. This is just a party. It keeps going like this too. Changes is one of many album highlights, a joyous stomper of a tune that seems to continue to improve on all that preceded it. When Stridd belows “Change, trying to make amends, this is how it ends…” I defy anyone to stand still and not bounce around your kitchen like a demented extra from Flashdance. Amber Through The Window is another barnstormer, the song bouncing along with a rollicking bassline, keys and chugging guitars that ebb and flow before blowing up into another outrageously catchy & memorable chorus. The Night Flight Orchestra are just outrageously great at writing this sort of material. Have I mentioned that yet? If there is a low point on the record it’s I Will Try. This is not a poor song, it’s just a bit of a dull moment amongst all of the solid gold material that surrounds it; with its ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ pop ballad vibe. You Belong To The Night picks things back up again with a similar energy and exuberance as the previous tracks; it’s euphoric, obscenely-laden with hooks & will carve a smile on your face. Zodiac is a welcome change of pace, doing what perhaps I Will Try was going to do but infinitely better. The verse has a sleek, sexy & effortlessly smooth timbre before exploding (literally) into another majestic chorus. White Jeans, the albums’ first single, rollicks along with a riff like Eye of the Tiger or Edge of Seventeen on speed. The album concludes in spectacular fashion with the quite enormous ‘Moonlit Skies’. This is the dictionary definition of grandiose. An emotive, pseudo-ballad which nimbly segues through peaks & troughs before building to a most euphoric conclusion. It is the perfect sign off for an album that is simply a joy to listen to.
The Night Flight Orchestra are simply one of the best bands out there creating this style of melodic rock. It’s a style of music I love and they are embarrassingly great at writing it. It’s also worth paying credit to Bjorn Stridd who was simply born to sing this material. His voice is utterly perfect for it; his tone has enough edge & grit so it’s rarely saccharine but it’s always melodic on point & pitched perfectly.
If you enjoy The Night Flight Orchestra I’d encourage you to check out the spin off, lockdown inspired 80s / 90s pop – rock cover band ‘At The Movies’ fronted by Stridd. The band record amazing covers of 80s movie themes, 80s melodic rock songs and 90s pop too. It’s brilliant fun.
Similarly, if you enjoy this type of melodic rock I’d also highly recommend artists like W.E.T., H.E.A.T., Work of Art or Eclipse as well as most of the Frontiers Records roster. The Night Flight Orchestra? They’re simply one of the best melodic rock bands in the world. I’m head over heels up to my neck in them.
(5 / 5)
