Release Date: 5 December 2025
Song Count: 7
Rating: 6.6/10
Description:
Today's album, and most likely also a few of the upcoming ones, are a series of personal recommendations from friends and acquaintances that I will be going through in order as to not make them wait another month for a suggestion of theirs to finally hit the front page of this site. Now, Running On A Cloud, the second album of up-and-rising indie pop-rock band Night Talks, presents itself right away as an interesting case, as it quickly cements itself as one of the shortest albums I've reviewed thus far, clocking in at only around 26 minutes. In their official advertising, the three-man (or rather, three-person) show promises a listening experience reminiscent of "the first time you stayed in your room all night listening to a record" and overall seems to aim high in their ambitions in the music scene, but just how far they have actually stridden towards those goals lies within the shot taken by their actual music, as with Running On A Cloud.
The aural colours of the seven tracks contained within generally draw in a catchy and pop-like yet also at times melodically intricate quality, building up an instrumental groove through the guitars, bass and mixed-in drums and working from that foundation to add a touch of glamour and nostalgia through intonations and influences from popular late 20th century music. Together with singer Soraya Sebghati's lively vocals topping things together, what comes out as an end result is a series of widely appealing, bright and vivid songs that capture the starry-eyed optimism and positive emotions the band itself wishes to radiate with their presence and work. It's describable as a rather feel-good style of music, putting the "vibes" and mental impact on the listener at their forefront above all else, even when it does lead to the tracks themselves following a noticeably more formulaic pattern overall in terms of song structure - a showcase of artistry and subjective meaning trying to trump out simply sheer technicality and the aim of "impressing" with skill.
What Running On A Cloud could use more to go up higher in the ranks are two tweaks: variation between songs, and more importantly, simply more time allocated to it - though its headed direction and approach is a way that could find itself winding towards a path of success, the truth of the matter is that it is simply difficult to leave much of a lasting impression with less than half an hour to work with. For the short time it does get to shine, however, it does what it attempts well - this is most certainly a style music that could remind some listeners of their "first time listening to a record" with the way it is crafted, and so it is fair to say that Night Talks has, in a way, succeeded in their mission overall with this album.
Thanks for the recommendation!