The Night Flight Orchestra – Give Us The Moon
The Night Flight Orchestra – Give Us The Moon
Napalm Records
Release Date: 31/01/2025
Review by Rory Bentley
9/10
Like the first swig of beer down the boozer after a gruelling day of work, The Night Flight Orchestra arrives at the end of an absolute slog of a January to bring the sunshine and the good times through the bleakness of winter! Those of you in the know will be fully aware of what a new NFO album entails- massive shamelessly camp hooks, driving riffs, garish keyboards and above all fucking incredible songs!
From a journalistic point of view Ever Metal should not have allowed me to review this album as I am a fully fledged member of the NFO cabin crew and am of the opinion that the band is better than all of its members main gigs put together. Unironically I am of the opinion that “Wages of Sin” and “Natural Born Chaos” ain’t shit compared to “Aeromantic”. Sure ‘Ravenous’ is a Melodeath classic, but given the choice between that and ‘If Tonight Is Our Only Chance’ there’s only one winner! Nonetheless I believe the songs here are so joyously, flamboyantly fantastic that my considerable bias should not detract from the integrity of this review.
For the uninitiated, NFO are a collection of established Metal musicians playing the kind of AOR anthems that Boston, Foreigner and Toto would be proud to put their name to back in their pomp. One listen to the sublime keys/guitar hook on ‘Shooting Velvet’ should immediately let you know if the NFO are for you. The cheese-factor is dialled up to peak blazer-with-rolled-up-sleeves mode and the chorus is shamelessly laser-guided to lodge in your noggin as soon as you hear it. Tap out now if this ain’t your vibe, and also never invite me to your party.
Bjorn Stijd’s velvety smooth pipes slink around ‘Like The Beating Of A Heart’ as lush, unashamedly retro keys add dazzling dayglo textures which give way to deliciously creamy lead guitars straight from the Neil Schon playbook. The chorus is once again undeniable and will leave you panting on the dance floor, but there’s no time to rest! ‘Melbourne, May I?’ (Yes, you fucking may!) smacks you right between the eyes with high octane Pop Metal, ball-squeezing high notes and an ass-shaking groove. Obviously the chorus is off the charts as well, you getting the pattern?
Even when things slow down a little on the classy ‘Paloma’, there is a driving pulse that keeps toes tapping and hearts pumping. The more dour Metal fan may find the relentlessly upbeat sugar rush of songs too much, and maybe the funky piano rocker ‘Cosmic Tide’ straight into the almost Disco title track might be camp Rock overkill. But last year I saw every single one of you fuckers doing the conga at Bloodstock last year during the band’s incredible set so don’t play coy with me, Barry Bulletbelt!
If I’m being picky and removing my pilot’s hat for a second, I could posit that the sprawling final track ‘Stewardess, Empress, Hot Mess (And The Captain of Pain) doesn’t quite live up to its lofty title. Although still a pretty great song, the chance to go full Meatloaf and shoot for the moon was there for the taking, and a slightly more ambitious arrangement would have seen the record go out on a perfect 10. But like I say, I still really liked it as I do everything on this life-affirming sexy time in the mile high club.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but the world is pretty bleak in all manner of ways right now, and I don’t know about you but I need Pop music and fabulous guitar pyrotechnics more than ever. So when the NFO plane pulls up at the departure gate I’ll be there with my passport and boarding pass every time! Give me the moon and the right medication!
‘Paloma’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Final Call (Intro)
02. Stratus
03. Shooting Velvet
04. Like The Beating Of A Heart
05. Melbourne, May I?
06. Miraculous
07. Paloma
08. Cosmic Tide
09. Give Us The Moon
10. A Paris Point Of View
11. Runaways
12. Way To Spend The Night
13. Stewardess, Empress, Hot Mess (And The Captain Of Pain)
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
