It seems that what started as a side project of Captain Black Beard’s bassist Robert Majd, is finally going to evolve into a full band as “Prowler” is not Nighthawk’s sophomore effort but a much more sophisticated – on all levels – work. The mere fact that he invited Bjorn Strid (Night Flight Orchestra) to take over the vocals but especially the fact that he chose to record at the legendary Abbey Road Studios shows Majd’s desire for something more serious. And indeed “Prowler” is easily superior to the debut album with the songs being more well-crafted from a compositional standpoint but at the same time maintaining a rock n’ roll aesthetic despite the polished production. Imagine that the whole recording was completed in 2 days (!) with Nighthawk proving that they had rehearsed the new songs exhaustively before entering the studio.
For those who don’t know Nighthawk, you don’t have to look too hard to understand what they’re playing. If you like Captain Black Beard, Night Flight Orchestra and Royal Republic (just to name three indicative bands) then you will definitely put a positive mark on Nighthawk. Melodic rock and a marriage of rock n’ roll with disco (in parts) combined with a strong mid-80s AOR aesthetic make up the Nighthawk’s puzzle, who also deposit two covers of “God of Thunder” (KISS) and “Cover Me” (Bruce Springsteen). In fact, the former includes Stanley’s original lyrics and not the ones modified by Bob Ezrin.
All in all “Prowler” reveals a band’s willingness to do more and judging by the final result of the compositions we will be looking forward to their future moves with great interest.
Highlight: Love the artwork of the cover sleeve…
