Double Life kicks off with a chugging groove, scintillating piano stabs, and twisty pedal steels all on opener “Trying To Steal A Smile” – this jaunty, looser iteration of Night Moves isn’t as folky as we’re used to. Their preceding album, 2019's Can You Really Find Me, judiciously dabbled with languid electronics to garnish their ruminations, but now they’ve gone gung-ho into grandiose, nostalgic synths embodying 70s pop rock. Night Moves find themselves pushing and pulling between being collected and teeming with life.
It's interesting to witness their contemplative riffage diverge towards something more palatable, given much of their lyrics of rough patches and breaks are largely the same. However, frontman John Pelant and his band were newly tasked with one of the more gruelling challenges as musicians: struggling to write. For the first time, they went as far as producing themselves, truly taking matters into their own hands by pushing on and pouring their persistent ambition into saccharine, bighearted balladry.
It’s no surprise that every guitar lick glints brightly – those in “Daytona” shimmer like stars, as if the group beams with idealistic optimism for the future. The larger-than-life “Hold On To Tonight” is the album’s unmatched champion track, a late-career highlight, and a lush, classic rock-inspired triumph with infectious harmonisations. The retro throwback cover art on Double Life warrants such an obvious kind of song, but it’s so great. Pelant powerfully sings the chorus from his heart, valiantly escaping the shortcoming of grasping onto faded memories – the song inspired by a death in the family – “I wanna hold on to tonight, hold on to tonight / But what can I do? Without you in hand”. Ears are graced by the sparkly musical costume donned throughout this song, the album’s most meaningful and distantly embodying their quieter, sentimental sensibilities.
Vibrant, percussive jubilance drives the antique “Almost Perfect” and melodica-heavy “White Liquor”, both catchy and reminiscent of Night Moves’ more carefree moments. Yet, the consequence of incessantly layering retro embellishments over the 40-minute runtime, many bluesy guitar chops at a similar tempo, is that the band’s usual impactful reflections veer into nebulous territory. Pelant’s fluttery falsetto, while stunningly at its apex on Double Life, can only distinguish so much if the songs gel – if you like “State Sponsored Psychosis”, you’ll enjoy it a tad faster in “The Abduction”. The dazzling backdrops overpower Pelant’s vulnerability, detracting from his authenticity.
Nonetheless, they regain their footing with closer “Desperation”, a hopeful, power pop gem affirming where Night Moves currently stand: Broken free from the anxieties that plagued their lives in the making of this record, and those since their last. They have the luxury of being on their feet once more. Double Life is an apt term for how Night Moves’ latest album lives – it’s a danceable spectacle at the cost of being deeply moving.
