”Let us Begin” doesn’t muck about for long. Blasting out of the gates with psych-laden guitars wailing and Sutch’s confident voice hollering, the track sets the tone for an old-school hard rock blast with a lot of energy and an addictive sense of joy. From this point on, the band jumps from fairy tale to fairy tale, from locked-up princesses to mysterious crones to kings going insane. The concept works in the band’s favor, as Goodnight My Children does feel like a storybook, with the tracks a natural analog for chapters, tying everything together neatly. The variety between the songs underlines this notion further. “Lock & Key” has a rebellious streak that stands in stark contrast to the pastel despair of “Woe Be Father’s Troubled Mind.” “Evermore” is an absolute banger of a Boston track that makes great use of the background vocals, but it comes right before “Hariette Mae,” which starts off as creepy as the Federation’s ever got, and end with ‘Run now, my little ones, for cometh Hari Mae!’
Where the distance between the worst and best tracks on the previous albums was sizeable, Goodnight My Children is a much more uniform affair without significant outliers. The “Lock & Key” chorus doesn’t gel with me, but it’s an otherwise fun track, albeit the weakest on the album in general. That also means there’s nothing that hits quite as hard as the band’s best, though. “Let Us Begin” and “Evermore” get close, but the former is too short and the latter not focused enough to reach those lofty heights. Rest assured, none of the blame for that lies with the performances. The guitarwork is especially strong, the solos emulating the peak of 70’s hard rock and the riffs a slew of addictive hooks straight outta AOR, the latter further empowered by the solid drums.
But the real draw remains the vocals. Sutch is in excellent form, taking confident command of the spotlight and conveying a wide range of moods and characters without breaking a sweat. The amount of background vocals is still higher than I’d like, but they’re integrated into the songs better than ever before, whether used in barbershop configurations (“Woe Be Father’s Troubled Mind”), quick call-and-response setups (“Betrothed to the Serpent”) or Beach Boys style ‘pah-paah’s and ‘oh-ooh’s (“Evermore”). The mix is balanced well, even when the music gets crowded, and the master is crisp. Along with the very concise songwriting (less than 35 minutes total), it makes for an incredibly relistenable album.
Overall, Goodnight My Children is a return to form for The Neptune Power Federation. A fun and jaunty ride through the land of imagination, the concept is perfect for Sutch to let loose at her most theatrical, and the instrumentation more than keeps up with her excellent vocal work. You can get lost in it, have a chuckle at the sardonic lyrics, or just rock out at the riffs cruising down the highway. It may not change the world, but few bands are doing this style better or with more personality than the Federation in this day and age, and I’m happy to hear the Aussies get back into the groove.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Cruz Del Sur Music
Websites: theneptunepowerfederation.bandcamp.com | theneptunepowerfederation.com | facebook.com/theneptunepowerfederation
Releases Worldwide: March 8th, 2024
