Indie-Americana outfit Night Flight return with their new album Exit Stage Left, released on Roof Jump Records via Kartel Music Group. The record follows 2023’s Songs From Echo Zoo and marks the start of a new chapter for the band, which has now distilled itself into the core songwriting duo of Harry Phillips and Sam Holmes (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) after slimming down from a four-piece.
The album opens with Cold to the Touch, which wastes no time and greets the listener with a gripping line: Come take my hand. If you’re new to Night Flight, the first few seconds make their strengths unmistakable – Holmes’ evocative vocals, a keen ear for detailed instrumentation, and a songwriter’s instinct for structure. Although rooted in indie folk, the way the drums, electric guitars and other layers slip into the composition feels thoroughly considered. Certain musical shifts even recall The Beatles or, more accurately, their spiritual heir Elliott Smith – stripped of the raw emo edge and infused instead with a gentle Americana current reminiscent of MJ Lenderman’s recent work. The guitar tone that crowns the track is impossible not to love.
Alimony follows with a sparse instrumental introduction that blossoms into a beautifully catchy melody. When the full band arrives and the chorus hits around the first minute, it becomes immediately clear that this is one of the record’s most radio-ready highlights. As a break-up anthem, Alimony stands among the strongest the genre has produced this year, with Holmes delivering one of his finest vocal performances.
The drumming throughout the album – courtesy of Simon Treasure and Casper Miles – is a subtle but crucial ingredient. In the more ballad-like Outside the rhythmic approach even echoes Bryan Devendorf of The National. The connection feels fitting, given that the album was mixed by D. James Goodwin, known for his work with The National and Kevin Morby.
No Pressure continues in a more folk-leaning vein. Its gentle beat and melodic phrasing again evoke Elliott Smith, culminating in an airy, hazy finale where voices and instruments fold into a soft cloud of sound.
The album’s center is formed by Forget You and A Song Upon The Window, with the former especially standing out. Forget You shifts the album into a more fragile emotional space – a tender and openly melancholic meditation on the anxiety of trying to forget and move forward. The warm Americana glow of earlier tracks suddenly feels distant; instead of sunlight on a mountain meadow, we find ourselves trudging through deep snow and returning to a cold cabin. It’s a striking, atmospheric change that enriches the album’s emotional scope.
Later on, the upbeat Lucy emerges as a personal highlight, recalling the charm of Andy Shauf’s The Magician. Along with its successor The Hearse, it’s one of the album’s longest tracks. Lucy begins unassumingly, almost traditionally, but halfway through it drifts into a dreamier space, helped by guest backing vocals, eventually leading to a delicate instrumental outro.
The title track Exit Stage Left closes the album with just acoustic guitar and voice, ending things in a more somber, weighty atmosphere that mirrors the record’s quieter, sadder moments. Instrumentally, it fades into something almost ambient.
What surprised me most after several listens is that such a stylistically refined album – full of earworm melodies, fantastic vocals, thoughtful production, a wide emotional palette, and meticulously crafted arrangements – was created by two musicians who currently work as a restaurant supervisor and in an e-bike factory. It says a lot about today’s music landscape and how difficult it is to make a living, even when you’re arguably in the top 5% of your genre. I genuinely hope this album becomes the breakthrough they deserve.
This album was discovered via Submit Hub
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