Review Summary: Come vibe with me.
Prior to the release of their sophomore album
Forever, Australian electronica duo Flight Facilities were already putting a heavy emphasis on the theme of “exploration”. In their own words:
"The best way to describe this album is a combination of where we've been, where we are, and where we're going. As true as it was from our first release, the foundations and glue for all our work has consistently been 'collaboration'. While our musical journey has always been an intentional exploration of multiple genres, our hearts and roots lie on the dance floor. We applied that same explorative ethos to this record, taking a concerted delve into the previously untouched niches and eras of dance. It's been a long time coming, and only the same time will tell if it was worth the wait."
That came from an interview with NME, and it served as a nice bit of hype for what was to come. After all, the duo’s debut
Down to Earth was a pretty promising - if overlong - house-flavored affair that played around with the many possibilities and avenues of dance music. However, after my exploration (there’s that word again) of their newest record, I believe I’ve come to a greater understanding of what makes Flight Facilities’ sound as enjoyable as it is. For all of their output’s danceability and pulsing synths, there’s an undeniable
chill factor that’s consistent in their music. It actually suits their album covers rather well; you don’t see anything flashy or wild going on in the cover art of
Forever... just an unassuming plane lying amidst both greenery and desert.
True to the vibe, there’s an intriguing minimalism that defines many of these songs. It comes in different forms as the record progresses, be it the low thumping beat of opener “Lights Up”, the light jazzy keyboards that compliment Your Smith’s singing on “Heavy”, or the dreamy bed of synths that anchors the R&B balladry of “Altitude”. As with
Down to Earth there are several features on the tracklist; however, they seem more appropriately and deliberately chosen this time around. The aforementioned “Lights Up” is a perfect fit for the low-key rapping of Channel Tres, whose delivery and lyrics bring out the kind of atmosphere you’d get in a seedy strip club after one too many drinks. “What I Want”, meanwhile, has an excellent performance from Broods, whose lead singer Georgia Nott compliments the airy keyboards and easygoing beat very well. Of course, this is all in the service of the mood and vibe the record provides; while the music might have been intended for the dancefloor,
Forever could just as easily be played with headphones during a nighttime stroll around the city. There’s just something so strangely calming and relaxing about it despite its thumping beats and house elements.
If there’s any downside to all of this, it’s that the album might just be a bit
too consistent. Eventually as the tracklist keeps going, the songs start to blur together and fade into the background. Perhaps
Forever can be praised for being so uniform with its vision and style, but seeing as the duo were trying to make exploration the theme here, I can’t help but be disappointed at the lack of variety. The title track arrives at the middle of the set and features Broods - just as “What I Want” did” - and by this point in the tracklist, the whole thing just feels like a repeat of sounds we’ve already heard. Smooth synthesizer lines? Check. Light airy vocals? Check. A beat that sounds both urgent and chill at the same time? Check. Still, at least
Forever isn’t as long as
Down to Earth; the tracklist here is a lot more concise and pared-down, which makes listening to the record from front to back a hell of a lot easier. But then again, who really listens to an entire dance record in a single setting these days? The fun in listening to
Forever, despite its faults, is that it’s a grab-bag of different moods, vibes, and vocal features. Leave your more critical faculties at the door, pick a song, and drift away to the music. If you can do that - and you don’t mind a little homogeneity in the songwriting - then you could do a lot worse than
Forever.
