FIRST NIGHT – First Night (2019)

Classic AORsters FIRST NIGHT just released their very good second album, and their self-titled debut also deserve a place in your collection. This young band from Estonia play timeless, pure ’80s styled AOR / Melodic Rock with an European flavor.
First Night was formed in Summer of 2016, after singer / songwriter Reneck Sweet decided to put together a new band. His friends guitarist Mikk Tivas and drummer Kristjan Aasamäe, who were in the band called Rising Sun, liked the material Reneck had been written and joined forces.

The idea was to create an AOR / Hard Rock band with that classy ’80s atmosphere, the genre that these guys loved and grew up listening to.
All songs were written in the old-fashioned, just Reneck with his acoustic guitar, then Mikk adding ideas and producing everything himself like he did in Rising Sun.

“First Night” effortlessly blends influences from all sides of the genre such Scandinavian-like keyboard / synth flourishes, ’80s German AOR clean vocals, pristine guitar lines akin the Canadian sound, plus, on few tracks some bite from Bristish AOR circa 1987, and of course, American seesaw into the choruses build.
Read Def Leppard, Blue Tears, Boulevard, Wild Rose, Strangeways, Da Vinci, Dominoe, and more…

What I love from First Night is the unpolluted ‘true AOR’ approach all over the album; I mean, this is pure ’80s stuff; no weird, ‘lets try something different here’ or ‘lets make a couple of modern sounding tracks’.
While some people may find this too much safe or monotonous, let me tell you that doesn’t happens in “First Night”.
These guys wanted to create an 80s AOR / Melodic Rock band / album in its purest form, and they succeed.

There’s not a single weak track here – if you love the genre, “First Night” is a pot of gold.
All are lovely, catchy, soaring melodic tunes very well composed and arranged, and for a self-managed product, quite awesomely produced.
I’m sold… 1987 is back here, and for a sucker like me for this classic sound & style, this album is already part of my ‘Best Of’ list of 2019.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

01 – Intro
02 – First Night
03 – Breaking My Heart
04 – Let Me Show My Love to You
05 – Stop Dragging Me Around
06 – Dangerous
07 – Can’t Keep Losing
08 – That Ain’t Love
09 – Night Is Calling Me
10 – Going Down
11 – Love Is on the Run
12 – Out of the Fire
13 – I’m Loving You
14 – Endless Night

Reneck Sweet (lead vocals)
Mikk Tivas (guitar, keys, backing vocals)
Kristjan Aasamäe (drums, backing vocals)

BUY
www.amazon.com/dp/B07N7W93B3