On the title track of last year’s Aeromantic, Night Flight Orchestra singer Björn “Speed” Strid sings, “There is nothing like aeromantics.” Little did we know that roughly a year and a half later, we’d be treated to a follow up album, appropriately titled Aeromantic II. That’s right folks. Everyone’s favorite melodic death gone melodic rock maestros are back with a brand new collection of pop rock earworms. Being an NFO diehard, the more music they release, the better. That said, if the hypothetical plan was to release this alongside the first Aeromantic as a double album, they did the right thing holding off until now. A double album clocking in at a little under two hours would’ve been downright overwhelming.
At this stage in the game, NFO have become pretty set in their approach to AOR. They’ve spent the last decade crafting music that can best be described as combining the smoothness of Toto with the arena rock edge of Boston. There have always been undertones of synthpop and disco throughout, but neither have been a key ingredient of the retro cocktail that is NFO…until now. Aeromantic II draws much more from these influences than the hard rock influences of its predecessors. That isn’t to say those hard rock stylings aren’t still there. Think ABBA with Steve Lukather on guitars.
The album opens with a one-two punch characteristic of NFO, “Violent Indigo” and “Midnight Marvelous”. Both songs boast the band’s signature traits of lush synths, big guitars, soaring vocals, and passionate lyrics. One of my favorite cuts, “How Long”, is as fast and furious as synthpop flavored AOR could be, serving as the perfect soundtrack to speeding down a neon lit road at 3 in the morning. Then we get to the first of many tracks with little to no rock influences, “Burn for Me”. At first I didn’t know how to feel about this song. If you played it for me blindly, I would’ve thought it was Wham! But my goodness that chorus is too catchy to ignore.
As we make our way to the lighthearted disco rock of “Chardonay Nights”, it’s clear the direction NFO is going for. This cut is one part Dynasty era KISS, one part early 80s Russ Ballard, and one part John Travolta. The same can be said for the groove laden “You Belong to the Night” and hard driving “Zodiac”. “Amber Through a Window” and “Moonlit Skies” channel the synthpop explored on “How Long”, while “I Will Try” and “Change” recall the poppier end of Toto circa Toto IV.
All this analysis begs the question: Can Aeromantic II be considered an AOR album? I guess it is in spirit, even if the “rock” is minimal at best. What I can say is NFO have released yet another great album of magical melodies that should appeal to fans of good music in general. There’s nothing like a Night Flight Orchestra album…even if said album is a sequel.
8 out of 10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Toto, Boston, Russ Ballard