In a surprise move and despite its members’ other musical endeavors, classic hard rock and AOR revivalists the NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA have returned just 1 year after the fantastic “Amber Galactic“ with “Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough,” which builds upon its predecessor’s retrofuturistic ’80s sound and space imagery. Since “Amber Galactic“ was my album of the year, to say that I was hyped to get another album so soon would be an understatement, but at the same time I wondered if they could top that effort, as it remained my favorite album of theirs even after I’d familiarized myself with the first two records.
While “Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough” picks up very naturally where “Amber Galactic” left off, the NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA have upped the ’80s factor and even brought in more disco influences. Richard Larsson‘s keyboard sounds demonstrate this development well – just check out those electronic synths in the intro of “Turn to Miami” and the orchestral keyboards on “This Time.” On the other hand, “Pretty Thing Closing In” makes it clear that ABBA‘s music is in these Swedes’ blood, as the tune sounds like the lovechild of “Gimme Gimme Gimme” and PINK FLOYD‘s “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2.” This cinematic and mysterious disco song lets Björn “Speed” Strid utilize his lower register, and the funky guitars add a nice texture, making it an immediate standout track. “Paralyzed” may be a clichéd song title, but it’s got an infectious disco groove, and the chorus is catchy as glue, so that can be forgiven. The ’70s sound hasn’t been eschewed completely though, as “Winged and Serpentine” with its piano and SCORPIONS-style harmonized guitars has shades of that era.
My favorite song has to be “Can’t Be that Bad,” whose chorus is a little bit similar to “You Give Love a Bad Name” by BON JOVI, but not too much – taking familiar ingredients and making them feel fresh is NFO‘s biggest strength. The title-track makes me grin with its Finnish spoken word bits and the brilliant synth solo, while the ambitious “The Last of the Independent Romantics” is a nice representation of the band’s prog sensibilities and probably the band’s best long song besides “Transatlantic Blues” from the “Internal Affairs” (2012) debut. Strid‘s vocal performance on “Barcelona” is so convincing that it makes you believe the city must be dear to him, and he also makes “Moments of Thunder” and “Lovers in the Rain” the big anthems that they deserve to be. The only track that leaves you wanting more is “Speedwagon,” which rushes to the chorus a little too quickly and could’ve been elaborated on.
“Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough” is a rock-solid album, but coming so soon off the heels of “Amber Galactic,” its impact is not as strong and I wish the band would’ve utilized their female backing vocalists more, because that’s a distinct feature that separates them from other bands in the field of retro rock. Then again, “Amber Galactic” struck me out of nowhere and I had no prior expectations going into it, so comparing these two albums is a little unfair in that regard – maybe in a year or two it’ll be easier to look at the two albums in a more objective light. In any case, this record is not a disappointment by any means, and hopefully it’ll introduce even more people to the NFO universe.
Bear: I hadn’t listened to “Amber Galactic” before trying this out, so this counts as my first NFO album. That may explain why, from my perspective, this album was very much an excellent step forward from its predecessor. Songs like “Paralyzed,” “Barcelona,” and “Pretty Thing Closing In” are all a delight to listen to, and while there is a lot of cheese on the album, it’s fun-time cheese and pretty entertaining to listen to straight through. To compare to its predecessor, “Amber Galatic” certainly has a lot more funky songs on it, and is likewise a bit slower on the whole. My extra points to “STWAO” are because Strid‘s vocals are just so much better all around. Both albums have their merits, but this one is my favorite of the two.
Written by Wille Karttunen
Musicalypse, 2018
OV: 1475
Tracklist
- This Time
- Turn to Miami
- Paralyzed
- Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough
- Moments of Thunder
- Speedwagon
- Lovers in the Rain
- Can’t Be That Bad
- Pretty Thing Closing in
- Barcelona
- Winged and Serpentine
- The Last of the Independent Romantics
Lineup
Björn Strid – vocals
David Andersson – guitars
Sebastian Forslund – guitars, percussion
Sharlee D’Angelo – bass
Richard Larsson – keyboards, percussion
Jonas Kallsbäck – drums, percussion
Label
Nuclear Blast Records
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