We really enjoy it when an album is a journey, like the debut album from Sydney duo Flight Facilities.
‘Down To Earth’ is almost a lounge album for the modern young adult looking for a comedown from Saturday night. The songs are perfectly ordered to pump one up then bring them back down to earth.
Opening track ‘2 Bodies’ has dreamy vocals and is a great winding-down track for the 4am club people. It’s followed by ‘Sunshine’, which is a full on funky Jamiroquai-inspired number with soulful vocals from Reggie Watts.
Previous single ‘Claire de Lune’, which achieved a gold sales accreditation, has luscious strings and is deliciously pensive in a Roger Sanchez ‘Another Chance’ kind of way.
What’s really interesting about ‘Down To Earth’ is that the songs without featured vocalists are unusually structured. They essentially revolve around repeated sections of vocals and smartly constructed beats and instrumentation.
Elsewhere ‘Stand Still’ has an irresistible frenetic energy whilst ‘Why Do You Feel’ is a full on R&B track that renews one’s faith in Australian producers. It’s a real shock to proceedings that keeps listeners on their feet.
Our favourite track has to be ‘Crave You’, which is ridiculously catchy. There’s something a bit Moloko about the production and, combined with Giselle Rosselli’s party-girl vocals, continues to be a winning recipe four years after its original release.
Of course the big press hype over the album centres around the Kylie collaboration, which is a short reprise of the aforementioned ‘Crave You’. The track is an ample reminder of both Kylie and Flight Facilities’ talents. Kylie turns the party song into an acapella torch song, reminiscent of the Abbey Road version of her 1980s classic ‘Never Too Late’. For Flight Facilities, it’s a simple reminder that they know their way around a killer melody.
As a whole, ‘Down To Earth’ is a great introduction to Flight Facilities as an act to watch.
The biggest flaw on the album is that we think the four instrumental songs could’ve made four amazing conventional tracks, but perhaps that’s a sign of choosing creativity over commercial norms. But that’s hardly a flaw at all is it?
Download : Sunshine, Why Do You Feel, Crave You.
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