Short Reviews [ Flight 09 - 2020 - "10515"]

Veteran Uzbekistan band FLIGHT 09 have been around in one form or another for a good 35 years at this point, and have been releasing material at a fairly steady pace ever since 1990. Their most recent album "10515" appeared towards the tail end of 2020, and was released through the Tashkent based label Iosis. In many cultures, 13 is regarded as an unlucky number, and if one were to be superstitious that would be a bad omen for this veteran band, as "10515" is their 13th studio album to date. In this case I rather suspect that any bad omens will be laid to rest though, as from what I have heard by this band so far, this most recent album of theirs is also their most interesting one by far. It would appear they have changed their line-up a bit since their last album appeared a couple of years back, and while I cannot trace detailed information about just how much I am reasonably sure that their current vocalist is a new one, and a singer that goes in guns blazing to eradicate what was a weak aspect of this band's repertoire earlier on. Their new singer, whose name I am unable to find sadly, isn't one of those universally pleasing singers either. She has the guts to go about the job of a vocalist in her own way, with a slight snarl to her high pitched natural voice, and a liberal, ongoing use of the vibrato throughout. A vocal style that adds a lot of drama to the material, and while this kind of vocal style may be somewhat divisive it also adds a lot of personality and identity to the songs. The most important bit is that she is in tight control of tone and harmony, and by and large she is a good vocalist. A skilled singer with a very distinct and personal style. With veteran songwriting skills in the band and a decent mix and production, the end result is an album that is rather entertaining at it's best. An album that in style is ranging from loose, relaxed creations with a bit of a soft rock touch to them through playful borderline funky affairs, tighter creations with more of a distinct hard rock orientation and through to the slightly quirkier, atmospheric laden material with something of a neo-progressive rock orientation to them. While I do not find all the songs as spirited as the others, the vocals certainly elevate a few of them, while others combine spirited and a bit more expressive songwriting with the distinct lead vocals in a borderline brilliant manner. Case in point for me is 'The Game', a good song where the opening arrangement is a shining light of music magic that possibly could have been explored a bit more. Much the same is the case with some of the arrangements on the concluding song 'Rising'. For me these two songs represent the very finest moments of this album, and for those curious these are the songs to track down for a listen prior to the rest of this CD. On previous occasions I have not really been all that convinced about the qualities of Flight 09 as a recording unit, but on this latest studio album the band as a whole has taken a big step up on the quality ladder as far as I'm concerned, with a quality singer as the icing on the cake. A singer with a distinct personality to her voice that may well be something of an acquired taste for some, but whose technical skills as a vocalist and whose role as an energy provider for the band, in my opinion at least, are undeniable. Long time fans of Flight 09 should find this to be an inspired album I suspect, and for those that have a general interest in sophisticated hard rock, I have earlier outlined a couple of tracks to look for to sample the qualities of this band and this album.