Since their 2012 debut album ‘Dropping Anchors’, Stars & Flights have gone from strength to strength – tours with Neck Deep, high praise from Daniel P Carter and now this – their third release, ‘Moral Colour‘. Recorded with Chris Coulter (Arcane Roots, Empire) This South Wales-based alt-prog rock trio are looking to take their next step toward stardom.
The titular opening track is an upbeat, catchy tune with strong hooks, awash with turns and trills that make the track exciting and fresh on each playthrough. ‘Fairweather‘ follows in a largely similar fashion, before being stripped back to a low-profile verse that is not entirely dissimilar to the work of Incubus. The choruses on the other hand are almost huge, but there is just something lacking. It’s something that you can’t quite put your finger on, but it’s missing… something.
‘Glass House‘ and ‘Tired Nightlife‘ are the real guts of the album. Situated in the exact middle of the album, each track showcases a bit more brute force and talent. The songwriting and technical proficiency hit a real high point on each track, before the aptly titled ‘Repeater, Repeater‘ repeats itself deep into your subconscious.
‘Dearest on Show‘ sees Stars and Flights redirect their energy into a touching and impassioned track that shines as a clear-cut highlight on ‘Moral Colour’, before they revert back to their widely employed formula from the rest of the album on ‘Head Full of Static‘ and ‘The Roman Way‘
You’ll be hard pressed to find people who answer ‘what sort of music do you listen to?’ with ‘Alt-Prog Rock’ and yet it feels ever-present. Muse, Coheed & Cambria, and The Mars Volta are always floating about on the winds of what’s great in today’s rock scene. And as such a niche genre, it should come as no surprise that new bands are trying to slot in and capitalise on something that becomes such a favourite without people really noticing it. And that is what happens here – there is nothing overly infectious about the album, and you won’t find yourself singing it or humming it at work, but when you revisit it, you realise that actually, this is a solid collection of songs.
Individually, the tracks are sharp, energetic and lashed with promise, but altogether in this format, most tracks feel monochromatic and ‘samey’. Stars and Flights have clearly found a structure that works for them, but instead of building upon it, they seem to have employed a ‘painting by numbers’ approach. That isn’t to say that ‘Moral Colour’ is a bad album – far from it, in fact – it would just be nice to hear a bit more variety and distinction in their sound.
