Mostly Autumn's 'White Rainbow' - Album Review

It will surprise very few, and particularly regular readers of this blog, that the release of a new Mostly Autumn is something that I look forward to gleefully. I have been following them since 2006, and during that time they have become one of my very favourite bands. In fact the last Mostly Autumn show that I attended, which was at Bilston's Robin 2 back in December of last year, was my fortieth concert of theirs! I know that that figure pales in comparison to some of the band's other fans, but I am never-the-less pleased with the amount of their gigs that I have managed to rack up. I will be seeing the band at least twice more this year also, and they are events that I am already looking forward to. One of the reasons that I continue to see Mostly Autumn so regularly is their decision to usually play long shows, which often focus on whatever album is their latest at the time. This, coupled with their regular album release schedule, means that the band's shows year on year can be very different. Recent shows have featured lots of material from 2017's excellent Sight of Day (which I reviewed here), and I fully expect their shows throughout 2019 to showcase material from their new opus White Rainbow. White Rainbow, the band's thirteenth studio album, was released last month - but I have had my copy since December of 2018. As usual, the band opted to fund the recording of the album by taking pre-orders through their website. Those of us who pre-ordered received the album a long way ahead of the general release, as well as a bonus disc containing extra songs recorded during the album's sessions. I always find these special editions of Mostly Autumn's albums to be excellent value for money, and purchasing them allows the band to keep control of the recording process. This business model has served the band well over the past decade or so, and I expect they will continue to use it for future albums. When listening to a band's new album, it is always hard to picture it in the context of their wider discography. That being said, I feel that White Rainbow will be seen as a very important album for the band in future years. The driving force behind much of the album's material was the tragic passing of the band's former guitarist Liam Davison in 2017. Although Davison had not been a part of the band since early 2014, he was a big part of their history. He was one of the founding members back in 1995, and his rhythm, acoustic, and slide guitar formed a big part of the band's early sound. His passing was a big shock to the fanbase, and he is missed by many people across the world. It is perhaps unsurprising then that White Rainbow is the band's tribute to Davison. While I do not believe that every song is about him, there are certainly lots of references to him throughout the album. It is a quite a dark album, but there are also moments of light. This is typical of the band's sound, but things certainly seem more poignant than usual in a number of places. The album stays true to the classic Mostly Autumn sound however, although it does feel a lot more progressive than usual with a few surprises to be found throughout. Six of the seven who performed on Sight of Day return for White Rainbow, with the only change being drummer Henry Rogers (DeeExpus; Touchstone) replacing Alex Cromarty.

The album opens slowly with the running water and atmospheric guitar of the instrumental Procession. It is a piece that gradually builds up over a couple of minutes, with bandleader Bryan Josh's guitar, Iain Jennings' keyboards, and regular guest Troy Donockley's (Iona; Nightwish; Auri) uilleann pipes coming together to create a folky, yet haunting piece which acts as an extended intro to the ten minute-plus epic Viking Funeral which gets the album underway proper. The slow build up continues here, with a pulsing beat, Jennings' synths, and a simple drum pattern from Rogers. The first half of so of the song is also instrumental and, as the band have done in the past, references some of their older songs. There is a keyboard melody reminiscent of the intro to The Night Sky, and there is a vocal refrain taken from Tennyson Mansion. Being that this is one of the band's main tributes to Davison - who apparently fancied the idea of a Viking-style funeral - this musical reflection is fitting. It eases the listener in gently before the lyrical portion of the song starts, but this is not before a fantastic Josh/Donockley duel, which mixes soaring rock guitar and uilleann pipe melodies in a way that sounds uniquely Mostly Autumn. A big acoustic guitar melody heralds the first 'proper' vocal of the album, sung by Josh, who pays tribute to his fallen friend perfectly. Olivia Sparnenn-Josh mostly provides ethereal backing vocals and harmonies here, but her voice mixes well with Josh's - especially during the darker chorus which features some prominent bass playing from Andy Smith and walls of dense keyboards. Donockley is all over the album's first two songs, with his pipe and whistle work often resurfacing here to add that folky touch. He weaves his magic along with Josh throughout Viking Funeral, and the latter impresses with a lengthy heartfelt solo that closes out the piece - with an almost-choral backing that adds to the overall mood. After this bombastic two-part opening, Sparnenn-Josh's composition Burn feels like a breather. It is her first time in the spotlight on this album, and the gentle ballad is the perfect vehicle for her voice. Atmospheric keyboards and some subtle guitar leads form the bulk of the song's music, but this is a song all about the vocals. Sparnenn-Josh has a very versatile voice and the verses here showcase a slight 'smokey' side to her delivery, before she pushes herself a little more in the choruses to effortlessly hit some higher notes. It has been great to hear a couple of solo Sparnenn-Josh compositions on the last couple of Mostly Autumn albums, and this is another great track from her that really sees her coming into her own as a songwriter. Run for the Sun is a slow-burner, and one that has grown on me a lot over repeated listens. Sparnenn-Josh takes the lead vocal here, and the early portion of the song sees Josh and Chris Johnson joining forces to combine atmospheric electric and acoustic guitar melodies, while the keyboards add a floaty, whimsical feel. This is a song that builds up slowly, with Rogers eventually joining in with some percussive drumming, and Angela Gordon adding her harmony vocals as the sound expands. I love how the song builds up, and when Rogers launches into the first true drum beat of the track around four minutes in Josh lays down one of his trademark, emotional guitar solos. This solo ends up dominating the second half of the song, with Sparnenn-Josh coming in again at the end with a vocal reprise to wrap everything up.

Western Skies is a collaboration between Sparnenn-Josh and Jennings, so is unsurprisingly very keyboard-heavy. The intro is slow, with some gorgeous flute work from Gordon to bring it to life, but the main verses are a little more upbeat with prominent acoustic guitar chords and Sparnenn-Josh's powerful vocals. This truly is a song of two halves however with this acoustic-dominated first section replaced later on by something altogether more heavy. Before this however, there is a chance for Josh to take a solo and there is an extended final chorus section which features some of Sparnenn-Josh's best vocals on the album. The song seems to be fading out, but Rogers starts a simple bass drum rhythm which is Jennings' cue to start a symphonic keyboard melody that forms the basis of the rest of the song. Mostly Autumn are not a heavy band, but this second portion of Western Skies really sees them rocking out. Josh's guitar lays down a heavy rhythm, but it is Jennings' that shines here with lots of layers of melodic keyboards. The riffs are extremely catchy too, and recall the folky instrumentals on the band's early albums - only much heavier! Into the Stars is a much simpler song, and is actually quite poppy by the band's standards. Sparnenn-Josh once takes the lead vocally, and sings the memorable melodies with ease. The song has an earworm of a chorus, that has an almost AOR-esque feel to it, but it still has quite a deep sound with plenty of dense organ sounds and layers of acoustic guitar. Mostly Autumn have not really done a simple pop rock song for quite a while, so Into the Stars' inclusion here is a welcome one. It still stays true to the band's core sound however, with a tasteful guitar solo from Josh adding a little prog goodness in amongst the pop! Up sees Josh singing lead again, and it is quite a dark song that recalls 2007's Heart Full of Sky album somewhat. The song is another slow-burner, with a sombre electric/acoustic guitar combination forming the basis of the verses - that also see Josh singing in a way that is quite different from his usual delivery. It is one of the darkest-sounding Mostly Autumn passages in my opinion, and when the booming drums come in things become even more unsettling. It works wonderfully however, and the contrast when the song moves into the chorus is a stark one. The chorus is more typical of the band's sound, with Sparnenn-Josh adding vocal harmonies and Jennings adding washings of Hammond organ. It is here that the main melodies really shine, and it almost feels like an antidote to the downer verses and pre-chorus! Even the chorus lyrics seem to reflect this, and it is this mix of styles that makes this song one of the album's highlights. The Undertow, written and sung by Johnson, is a quirky piece that adds to his small - but significant - contribution of the band's overall catalogue. Not as atmospheric and soaring as his other pieces, The Undertow is nevertheless full of his songwriting traits. His fragile voice suits the song perfectly, and the chiming guitar melodies create that alternative tapestry of sounds that is part of everything that he does. From the gentle opening, the song progressively gets more aggressive as it moves along, with portions that actually sound quite angry before calmness once again ensues with the song's smooth chorus. This is probably the least Mostly Autumn-esque song that Johnson has written for the band so far, which shows the band's overall willingness to try new things - which I think is great.

Gone is a short, acoustic-based piece (although an extended version of the song is available on the bonus disc) that features Sparnenn-Josh's gentle vocals and a simple musical backing that feels like a bit of a breather after the spiky previous tune. Gordon's flute once again adds some magic here and there however, which adds to the overall relaxing feel, but it is not long before the album moves into the gargantuan title track. At over nineteen minutes in length, White Rainbow is the longest song the band have ever written and - as expected - it moves through lots of different movements and moods throughout it's duration. It starts of slowly with some dense and haunting keyboards, before an acoustic guitar takes over and Josh starts singing. Parts of this song remind of the title track of 2008's Glass Shadows, and these early moments really recall the vibe that song conjured up over a decade ago. Josh has not taken as many lead vocal spots on this album as he usually seems to, but here he is full of passion as the acoustic guitars and keyboards form a textured backing and Rogers keeps time with a slow drum beat. Sparnenn-Josh also sings throughout, sometimes on her own and sometimes harmonising with Josh - which really helps the song to feel dynamic and interesting despite its length. This is a song that took quite a while to grow on me but, while I still feel there is much for me to discover here, now I really appreciate what Josh was trying to achieve with the piece. The first major change sees everything drop out to be replaces with a solitary piano melody, but then the rain effects are added in and the song takes a darker turn with a booming drum beat and some Deep Purple-esque stabs of Hammond organ. This portion of the song is heavier, with Josh singing atop some meaty power chords and doomy piano notes - but is perhaps the song's pseudo-chorus that is the highlight. Sparnenn-Josh takes the lead for this section, and her voice unleashes siren-like and full of smouldering power. The bombast and heaviness of this part of the song rivals that of Western Skies earlier in the album, but the contrast here is starker given how the song starts off. Sparnenn-Josh gets more time in the spotlight here, with a lengthy vocal section, before the song moves into an instrumental section that keeps up the heaviness. There is some great drumming from Rogers here, including some double bass pedal drumming (not something you often hear on a Mostly Autumn album), and some excellent keyboard melodies that chime in above the meatier guitars. The pseudo-chorus of earlier is then reprised, with more fantastic Sparnenn-Josh vocals, before the song takes one last turn. The folky, acoustic guitar-based final couple of minutes is very different to the rest of the song but it forms the perfect coda to probably the band's most complex song to date. White Rainbow is a stunning track, and I am certain that over time it will become a firm favourite of mine. There is still room for one more song however, and Young brings the album to a close. Another direct tribute to Davison, Josh sings about his fallen friend with passion and pride - something which only eclipsed by his guitar solo. The song is quite subtle, with keyboards mostly forming the backing for the vocals, but towards the end - and perfectly introduced by the lyrics - there is one of the best guitar solos on the album. It drips with pure emotion, and you can almost feel Josh's sorrow for Davison pouring from the speakers! It is the perfect way to close the album, and is another reminder why Josh is one of the best guitarists in modern progressive rock. Overall, White Rainbow is another stunning album from Mostly Autumn. It was a bit more of a slow-burner for me than many of their other recent works, but it is well worth the time investment. This is a band that never fails to disappoint, and I am sure this will end up in my Albums of the Year list come December.

The album was released on 1st March 2019 via Mostly Autumn Records.