What does Flight Mode sound like?
An emo-tinged indie rock band moving through time, release to release.
The review of Flight Mode – Tøyen, ‘13
Since discovering Flight Mode, I’ve grown increasingly fond of their trio of EPs that play with time. Each EP they’ve released is entitled with a location and time. ‘TX ’98’ kicked things off with youthful exuberance. ‘Torshov ’05’ sees a life much more jaded and feeling lost in the big wide world. We now arrive at the third and final EP in the series ‘Tøyen, ‘13’. Eight years on Flight Mode’s guitarist and vocalist Sjur’s father has just passed away and in the same year, Sjur became a father. It was a year of seismic shifts and weariness and Sjur says it is the last year he remembers as an event. It is the perfect place for Flight Mode to dive in.
As with all three EPs, the rock sound and production subtly change to match both the era and the mode. This is the cleanest sounding EP of them all and at the same time, there is a heavy weight behind the eyes of each track. ‘Hyperventilate’ has a poppy malaise to it with catch chords and mini flourishes but the subject matter is personal, harrowing and intimate. There’s a juxtaposition throughout the EP that’s the musical equivalent of putting on a brave face. With the opening track ‘Thirtysomething’, we get Americana noodling for the verse that reaches a slogfest chorus of power chords. It should sound bold but the lethargy involved grounds it in an indie pop grunge that spoke to me. I feel this emotion of the daily grind often and this song captures a flickering flame of everyday dross perfectly. It is like the emo child grew up and is now just tired.
‘Surprised at All’ is peppier with quicker tempos, and wider, more open chords and melodies. Its euphoria is marred by the lyrics which talk about the predictably unsurprising nature of a relationship gone sour. It is celebratory in the letting go and it’s oddly anthemic. Closing the EP out is the initially clunky waltz of ‘My Brothers & My Sister at the Funeral’. As Sjur starts to paint in the painful memory, the rest of the band fills in the musical cracks. The song expertly moves from an abrasively percussive and harsh waltz to something more unified and comforting in the sadness.
‘Tøyen, ‘13’ is an excellent way to round off a trio of EPs that chronicle Sjur’s life so far. If you are new to Flight Mode, I would recommend seeking them out together. They’ve been released like an album entitled ‘The Three Times’, or you can pick them up separately. Whatever way you tackle it, Flight Mode has a canny knack for tapping into moods and times in a way that feels honest and raw. The songs are catchy and whilst the subjects are deeply personal, they resonate with everyone. A fine release.
Recommended track: Surprised at All
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