Aeromantic II

Long before succumbing to life changing joys of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden (around time of secretly discovered sleazy midnight showings of Bleu Nuit on TQS), I was a huge FM radio freak, exchanging countless mixed tapes with my sister and cousins, filled with ultimate 1980s cheese-rock in the redolent, floppy hair and wild flair vein of INXS, Michael Jackson and Billy Idol, to name a few. Therefore, I'd taken a shine to Sweden's eclectic and poppy The Night Flight Orchestra, as its most recent pair of Aeromantic titles does a great job of flinging me back to those long dissipated, fondly naive times.

While 2020's first instalment has already been assiduously reported on, 2021's neglected second version also deserves a bit of love, even if doesn't quite match the earlier one's high level of cathartic enchantment and surprise. That said, it takes a brief moment to rightfully "take off the ground", with the becalmed opener winding it up in a similar manner as paltry packets of airline peanuts serving as a slight snack ahead of the main repast, namely a flurry of upbeat anthems whose cloying rhythms and refrains stick fast to age softened brains. In other words, once the seatbelt sign flashes on for good with the catchy "Midnight Marvelous", Aeromantic lives up to its cloud-bound name.

As with Finland's Cardiant, a big part of TNF's appeal lies in the judicious juxtaposition of savoury, swirling keys across an arena rock foundation of mid-pace stomping, with both male and female vocals complementing each other like entwining serpents of the Caduceus, that ever cryptic medical symbol. At times, the happy-go-lucky male chants also remind me of Norway's Flight and Magick Touch. Guitars are kept to a strict rhythmic level, while the bass/drums pump away like demented marionettes. A couple tracks which really do it for me include "Chardonnay Nights" and "Zodiac", but overall, The Night Flight Orchestra's Aeromantic Deux is a fine sequel to its original-in-every-sense-of-the-word charter.