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Old 07-10-2011, 05:16 PM   #73 (permalink)
Trollheart
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Storms over still water --- Mostly Autumn --- 2005 (Mostly Autumn Records)


I would say one of the best albums released by Mostly Autumn, but then there has yet to be a bad record by this band, at least to these ears. Like previous albums by the band, it's a heady mix of rock, prog-rock and folk, which blends together cleverly and effectively to become a sound which is trademark Mostly Autumn.

I'm reliably informed that Mostly Autumn have a tradition of opening their albums with the ending of the last track on the previous one, and here they duly fade in the end of “Pass the clock, part 3”, which ended 2003's “Passengers”, before the opener to this album powers its way in, great keyboards, squealing guitars and the double-vocal of Bryan Josh and Heather Findlay carrying “Out of the green sky” to the ears, and marking the return of the band after a two-year absence. It's a powerful opener, and sets the scene for a great album. Next up is “Broken glass”, punching up the tempo with an almost Wham!-type beat (sorry, but that's what it reminds me of!), the vocal primarily taken by Josh on this one. Great keyboard work from Iain Jennings, who would depart after this album.

Like the previous track, this ends abruptly and we're into “Ghost in Dreamland”, with an urgent piano intro and great vocals from Heather, Mostly Autumn keeping up the pressure with another fast-paced song, the melody of which could be used for any number of car-chase scenes in a hundred movies. The first really special track though doesn't come until “Heart life”, slower but no less heavy than the three that have gone before, with Heather again on vocal duty. It's Angela Gordon's flute and recorders that really mark this track out though, and allow the first of the gentle folk influences that have characterised many earlier MA songs to come through.

It's a powerful ballad, sung from the heart, with some nice acoustic guitar from Bryan Josh, and effective backing vocals, and also some serious electric guitar. “The end of the world” is a weird little song, introduced on a harpsichord-sounding keyboard, very reminscent of early Genesis circa “Nursery Cryme”, as Heather sings the story of an old married couple, going about their normal day, until Bryan ups the ante with the dark announcement of impending disaster as the world comes to an end, while the old couple continue about their business, unaware they have but minutes to live. The juxtapositioning of the two vocals, one relating a simple tale of old lovers, the other harbinger of approaching doom, works extremely well, as Bryan sings, not without some black humour ”Molten drops fell everywhere/ Flashed Birmingham to flames/ Screaming into Yorkshire/ Kind of helped us on our way/ All at once she levelled all the stores/ Nothing to pay!” I'm not clear on what the actual disaster is --- I think it may be the moon going out of orbit possibly, but it's a little hard to make out. Nonetheless, MA paint a disturbing picture of Armageddon at Teatime!

“Black rain” is another fast song, this one warning of the dangers of ignoring climate change, Heather again taking vocals, with Bryan providing backup: ”Did no-one tell you there'd be thunder?/ Oh we're heading for black rain/ If we don't change!” It's a real rocker, great guitar and powerful drums with a really nice hook too. Three of the last four songs on the album are long ones, and they're preceded by “Coming to...”, a nice little instrumental, sounding a little mechanical or industrial before it bursts into a seriously powerful guitar riff which takes it to its short conclusion.

“Candle to the sky” is one of those MA songs that although it's over eight minutes long, has a relatively short singing section, picked guitar backing Bryan as he sings the lyric. The song picks up speed and power, guitar battling with flute as it progresses, then with about three minutes yet to go, it slows right down and settles into a Pink Floyd-esque guitar groove, on which the track fades out.

Of the three tracks remaining, “Carpe diem” is without doubt the standout. A haunting, unsettling remembrance of the Asian Tsuanami of 2002, it's introduced by uileann pipes, melancholy and lonely, then carried on a very simple but effective repetitive piano melody that begins right under the pipes at the opening and keeps going to the end, with Heather's anguished voice rising above it like a lost soul, or a banshee, or indeed, the personification of the loss and sadness of those who lost loved ones in the disaster. Again, for a track lasting over eight minutes there is certainly an economy of lyric, but it works very well, leaving the lasting impression that of the powerful musical closing section. This in fact carries on for a full five minutes, the piano joined by bass, then guitar and drums to form a truly majestic and haunting ending to the song. Quite likely some of Bryan Josh's best work to date on guitar. I would not be afraid to say that this song is in my top ten favourite Mostly Autumn tracks, and certainly in my top 100 of all-time songs.

That leaves the title track, another long one, but it's going to be hard to top “Carpe diem”, which should perhaps have closed the album. But “Storms over still water” is a worthy successor to that standout track, even if it never stands a hope of eclipsing it. Beginning with some nice acoustic guitar backed with electric, and some flute, it's again a folky tune, sung by Heather. It starts slow and balladic, but picks up pace as it goes, the electric guitar coming into its own, as again Bryan Josh shows why he is noted as one of the most underrated rock guitarists in the business. Halfway through, he takes over on vocals, Heather switching to backing, and the tempo of the song increases as the drums get going properly. After the brilliance, but melancholy, of “Carpe diem”, this reignites the optimism and you just can't stop your feet from tapping, and all seems again right with the world, for now.

Again, this could have been the closer, and perhaps it would have been, but they chose to write one more little track, simply entitled “Tomorrow”, to fulfil that role. It's an instrumental, with a drum and guitar melody that puts me in mind of Peter Gabriel's “Biko”. Perhaps they wrote it just so that they would have something to fade in from for the next album? Can't deny it's a great little coda to the album, though.

Once I had heard Mostly Autumn for the first time, I found that despite myself, I could listen to nothing else for months. I had albums backed up that I wanted to listen to, but every time I tried I just kept sticking on my MA playlist. It was a happy time, which eventually I had to force myself to break out of , but for a while there was for me no other band than Mostly Autumn. I don't know if you will feel the same way, if this is the first time you've heard the band and they have the same effect on you, but if so, take heart: there is help available for your soon-to-be addiction.

Yeah, but …. you don't want help, do you...?

TRACKLISTING

1. Out of the green sky
2. Broken glass
3. Ghost in dreamland
4. Heart life
5. The end of the world
6. Black rain
7. Coming to...
8. Candle to the sky
9. Carpe diem
10. Storms over still water
11. Tomorrow


Suggested further listening: “Passengers”, “The last bright light”, “Heart full of sky”, “Glass shadows”, “For all we shared”, “Go well diamond heart”
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Last edited by Trollheart; 03-27-2012 at 03:00 PM.
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