Melders of some of the least promising, easily abused genres of music – folk, Celtic, goth, prog – there’s always the horrible prospect of Mostly Autumn emerging as some sort of female-fronted Runrig, an appallingly earnest pub band leered at by Lord Of The Rings fans who think they’re in with a chance.
Go Well Diamond Heart, the MA debut for Olivia Sparnenn, who has replaced Heather Findlay, is unlikely to break the band out of the comfortable cult that they have created for themselves, but it is nonetheless a creditable progression. This is well-played, competently composed 70s rock, with all of its traditional virtues and sins.
Violet Skies and Deep In Borrowdale, for example, have plenty of sweeping melody to them – and lots of sixth-form lyrics, too. Sparnenn’s clean tone is too often relegated to behind the prosaic drone of Bryan Josh; it’s only when she sings that Mostly Autumn have the character to intrigue the less smitten listener.
