It’s always a bit of a daunting proposition approaching a band’s first album back after suffering a major loss. Especially when it’s a band you’re an unabashed fanboy for. You want to be fair and realistic in your assessments, but you also kind of just want to see the band succeed. I’ve been deeply curious how The Night Flight Orchestra would weather the passing of guitarist and key songwriter David Andersson in 2022, a loss that had me genuinely choked up when it was announced. They had been my feel-good comfort band for years, and I had no idea what to expect with such a major loss. As the new singles started dropping without really gripping me, I’ll admit to having been a little nervous. Could the band’s comeback hope to live up to what came before?
It probably only took until the second chorus of the energetic and emotionally fiery opener “Stratus” to get misty-eyed. I felt like all my worries had been abandoned on the runway when I took my maiden flight with Give Us the Moon. The Night Flight Orchestra, as with every album released since Amber Galactic first caught my attention back in 2017, had me hooked once again. Barring a few small and forgivable gripes, Give Us the Moon is yet another glittering foray into the band’s globetrotting blend of classic AOR (à la Journey, Boston, and Toto), disco, prog, and a love for their legendary countrymen ABBA. Maybe not a sound that stands out as particularly revolutionary or fresh, but it’s hard to care about that when the band is just so damned good at it.
Pretty much everything there has been to love is here in abundance. The band, as always, balances their approach in a measured, effective way. Harder rockers like “Stratus” or “Melbourne, May I?”, both standing as particular favorites of mine, make excellent showings for the guitar team of Sebastian Forslund and the newly arrived Rasmus Ehrnborn, even down to same delightfully Neal Schon-esque solos. Elsewhere, smoother tracks like “Miraculous” and title track “Give Us the Moon” are absolutely drenched in powerful, catchy singing and from main man Björn Strid (along with the perfect backing vocals of Anna Brygård and Åsa Lundman). Interestingly, I almost feel like Strid’s voice is smoother this time out and doesn’t hop to the highest notes as often as previous albums. Of course, this isn’t a complaint when every single song features at least one vocal hook some classic band would have killed for. He’s still the absolute powerhouse he’s always been, just going a little softer this time.
The disco element of the band likewise feels as strong as ever, especially on “Like the Beating of a Heart” and “A Paris Point of View”. The former is particularly poignant, being a leftover David Andersson composition that shines so brightly even among the great songs around it. Meanwhile, the latter track with its pumping basslines and cool progressions provides proof positive that the increased songwriting contributions of Forslund are universally outstanding, be it rugged rockers (especially the moodier “Runaways” with its bright bridge contrasting its darker verse and chorus) or mirrorball-ready dance numbers. I dare say his contributions might even be my favorites across Give Us the Moon, and that’s no small feat given the stellar efforts of the other writers.
The band even dabble in some cooler experiments deeper in the album’s runtime. With its syncopated rhythms, “Cosmic Tide” is a groovy track that hearkens back to earlier and proggier albums like Skyline Whispers. And of special note is the Strid-penned closer “Stewardess, Empress, Hot Mess (and the Captain of Pain)”. Put simply, it’s the grandest composition the band has featured since the monolithic “The Last of the Independent Romantics” in 2018, winding through a well-orchestrated and infectious verse to a dramatic chorus, before shifting into a lush, beautiful synth section carrying most of the song’s back half. For a band that never fails to close albums with a bang, The Night Flight Orchestra sends Give Us the Moon out on a particularly phenomenal note with that track.
And I haven’t even touched on how excellent the keyboard contributions from John Lönnmyr are across the board, matching up against the guitar duo and Strid’s endlessly catching vocal melodies on practically every song. Or the eternally tight, groovy rhythm section of Jonas Källsbäck and Sharlee D’Angelo (drums and bass, respectively) which never falters for a moment. The production is likewise perfectly suited to the band’s sound, though I did note it felt a bit more distinctly retro and not quite as clear as, say, the sweeping grandeur of Aeromantic duo before it.
All that said, I do feel like Give Us the Moon isn’t quite perfect. For all the dynamic shifts in mood and sound, the near hour-long runtime can feel like a bit much on repeat listens. And admittedly, a couple of the songs picked for singles still aren’t totally clicking with me. Leadoff single “Shooting Velvet” features a chorus that, for all its bare, soaring sentimentality, does feel a bit overly familiar for the band and doesn’t land as well as one could hope. Likewise, the late-album cut “Way to Spend a Night” has an excellent verse building to a great resolution, but the chorus doesn’t quite match the energy leading into it. Later single “Paloma” does fare a bit better with it’s more somber, emotional tone. And at the end of the day, nothing across Give Us the Moon feels genuinely surprising or new compared to older Night Flight Orchestra albums. But really, it’s a band that started for the distinct purpose of paying tribute to the music the band grew up with. They know what they want to be, and they are damn well excellent at it.
There was a moment where I was worried about how The Night Flight Orchestra might continue. After numerous listens and tearing up at least a couple times over how good I found it, Give Us the Moon has set all my concerns at ease. Featuring marvelous performances and more hooks than the law should allow, it’s yet another excellent album for the Swedish retro rockers, even if I wouldn’t call it their undisputed best (Amber Galactic still sits as my favorite). Maybe they’re not a band for everyone (as conversations with other Everything Is Noise staff informed me), but as a dyed in the wool classic rock lover, I have yet to hear a current-day throwback rock band that could match up to The Night Flight Orchestra‘s level. That the band has come back from such a major loss sounding this great is nothing short of astounding to me. The Night Flight Orchestra‘s broken wings have healed back to full strength, and once again I’m just happy to be along for the ride. Grab your ticket, take flight, and safe travels! You’ll be in good hands.
