Review: Nighthawk – Live!

Mighty Music (December 8^th 2023)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Hot off the heels of their second album release, last Spring’s ‘Prowler‘ (review here), Nighthawk have decided to hold over their fans with a four-track live EP until they release their new album, despite their new album having already been recorded.

Before I get into the critiques of this release, let me start with the positives. I am a fan of lead singer Björn Strid, love his ability to traverse genres, and enjoy what he brings to this release.  The songs here have a bit more energy than the studio recordings. The feel of a live setting can add a degree of magic that can’t be captured in a clinical studio setting. I also appreciated how the Hammond organ was not so in your face live as it was with the studio tracks. I found them to be overpowering in the initial recordings.

Now here’s my issues. I initially reviewed their debut album ‘Midnight Hunter‘ back in 2021 (review here). I noted that several songs were good but criticized a lot of the songs for being too short. This short song approach carried over into their second album. This four song EP barely makes it to the 12-minute mark and all the tracks are off of the new album. Where’s the love for the debut? I was hoping to hear at least one song from that release.

Live albums and EPs are always a hard sell for the public. Perhaps this mentality has adjusted with the changes in technology, but traditionally neither sold nearly as much as a full-length studio album, with a handful of exceptions. To put both a live album and EP together seems like a strange decision, even if it is assembled just for streaming. That decision is made more peculiar by the news that Nighthawk has already recorded their third album. If I was managing the band, I would have told them to release this EP as a special edition CD or Vinyl in a package with their third album. This would have pushed fans to purchase the physical product while also giving them something special that was not available to stream.

So we have four live tracks representing only one album that clocks in at just 12 minutes, as a stopgap between albums even though the next album has already been recorded. I can’t wrap my head around the reason for this release. With that said, the songs are strong, Björn sounds great, and it will surely please fans who dug their last album.

Tracklist:

1. Highest Score
2. Running Wild
3. Action
4. Free Your Mind