Some things in life are a given. The sky is blue. The grass is green. And whenever The Night Flight Orchestra releases a new album, chances are it’ll be album of the year. I discovered this Swedish supergroup a few years ago and was hooked from first listen. Their last album, Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough, was one of my favorites of 2018. Had Uriah Heep and Judas Priest not released such amazing albums that year, it would’ve been my #1. That two bands this late into their careers could put out albums so strong was about as unexpected as the Spanish Inquisition, but I digress.
After a couple years of patiently waiting, The NFO invites us on their latest musical voyage, Aeromantic. In a little under an hour, we’re treated with all the classic trademarks we know and love The NFO for, beginning with “Servants of the Air”. It follows in the tradition of “Midnight Flyer” and “This Time”: fast, upbeat, and about the closest thing to metal you’ll hear an NFO album. Following this is “Divinyls”. I first heard this song a few weeks ago upon its music video release and wasn’t too impressed. It was good, but it didn’t pack that NFO punch I was hoping for. 20 listens, some missing teeth, and a black eye later, I take my initial judgement back.
There’s a big reason why I and countless others obsess over The NFO. Many recent AOR bands do their best to duplicate the sound of the late 70s and early 80s. Some do a fine job at it. The NFO does it so effortlessly, if you played me some of these tracks, I’d believe they were relics of a Casey Kasem Top 40 countdown circa 1980. This is the case with the next two songs, “If Tonight is Our Only Chance” and “This Boy’s Last Summer”. Two of my favorite songs on the album, they’re earworms in the first degree.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an NFO album without odes to women. The first we’re introduced to on Aeromantic is “Curves”. Illuminated by the light of the California sun, “Curves” recalls the days of early Toto, Christopher Cross, and Rupert Holmes’ infamous “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”. If you let your guard down for a few minutes and don’t take life so seriously, you’ll love this track. Later on, we’re introduced to “Carmencita Seven” and “Sister Mercurial”. Both songs evoke emotions of loss and separation, but strive to recapture what once was, just like the music itself.
The last song I’d like to point out is the second music video single, “Transmissions”. Unlike “Divinyls”, this hit home upon first listen. It’s almost impossible to choose a favorite song off Aeromantic, but if I had to, it’d be “Transmissions”. I can almost feel the gentle breeze of a summer wind as I drive down a neon lit road: arcades on one side, bars to the other, with a Chinese restaurant sandwiched in for good measure. On Aeromantic, the past becomes present in the listener’s mind.
On the disco infused title track, Björn Strid sings, “There’s nothing like aeromantics.” If he’s referring to The NFO themselves, he’s correct. Good luck finding another band today so perfectly pulling off that classic AOR sound. With its delicate keys and synths, absurd harmonies, and addictive choruses, Aeromantic is a collection of the greatest songs melodic rock master Jim Peterik never wrote. Fly on Night Flight Orchestra. Fly on.
9 out of 10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Survivor, Toto, Boston