[TR24][OF] The Night Flight Orchestra - Sometimes The World Ain't Enough - 2018 (Melodic Rock, AOR)

If you are unfamiliar with the NFO sound, these Swedes cherish a decade in musical history between about 1975 and 1985. It is impossible to avoid that they are intentionally derivative, proudly brandishing their classic rock influences such that half of the fun is identifying which band inspired particular parts. For my year-end summary of Amber Galactic, I noted Toto, Van Halen, Billy Joel, Steely Dan, Journey and Whitesnake. These same bands are still in the melting pot but SWAE is definitely less heavy and guitar-driven than previously. The guitars, while good, are moved another row further back in the bus, while the keyboards move forwards yet again. It is disingenuous to call it ‘disco’ as I’ve seen it described in our internal channels, but I also appreciate that NFO stray ever-further from their metal-oriented day jobs2. To demonstrate this point, two additional bands can be thrown into the pot: ABBA and the Bee Gees, both of whom can be heard on the more disco-heavy tracks, such as “Paralyzed,” “Pretty Thing Closing In” and “Winged and Serpentine.”
But what is it that means your should curtail your concerns? What is it that has always made NFO such a success? The songs, the songs, the songs. It still staggers me that the same individuals who can write such bland melodeath can also write such incredibly catchy tunes for this project. As enjoyable as SWAE is across its duration, it is usual for a few tracks to rise to the top and that holds true here. “Turn to Miami” and the title track are pure 80s pop-rock magic with huge choruses that show off the talented backup singers that the band now employs. I have read “Moments of Thunder” compared with the finale to the opening act of musical theatre which is apt; it’s bombastic and over-the-top, even by NFO‘s ridiculous standards. And “Lovers in the Rain” is the obligatory ballad which wrings our every ounce of melodrama from its emotive guitar lines and soppy lyrics. While it isn’t as awesome as its equivalents from Internal Affairs and Skyline Whispers, I also want to mention the long-form closer called “The Last of the Independent Romantics” with its moodier introduction, great riffs in its second passage and relative complexity in its second half. I enjoy when these guys stretch their song-writing a little and was disappointed by the effort from Amber Galactic.