HEART FULL OF SKY

I can imagine the new epic double album from Mostly Autumn surprising a lot of people. Certainly, the majestic Pink Floyd stylisms are still there, as are the folky and Celtic elements, but this time the band have really pushed the boat out and become a great deal more adventurous. At various times, "Heart Full Of Sky" resembles everything from Stravinsky to noted German avant gardists Anima, via elements of Italian sympho-prog, Scandinavian prog metal, RIO and even hints of zeuhl. In particular, the second album (intended solely for die-hard fans, and issued in strictly limited quantities) contains some of the freakiest and most exciting music I've heard in years.

I'm joking, of course: this sounds exactly how you would expect a Mostly Autumn album to sound, except that it has even less to do with progressive rock than their previous albums. In fact, apart from "Broken Soldier"/"Further From Home" on the second album, it's not prog at all (despite plenty of Dave Gilmour- esque guitar solos, and the mellotron-based arrangement for the beautiful ballad "Gaze"). No, what we have here is mellow melodic rock, resembling a cross between early-to-mid seventies Fleetwood Mac and Gerry Rafferty, although on "Yellow Time" the band sounds uncannily like Oasis (the seventies Californian band that also recorded as RJ Fox, not Messrs Gallagher and friends).

Of course, it's by no means a bad album: Bryan Josh and Heather Findlay are too accomplished as songwriters to allow that, and with guests the calibre of Peter Knight and Troy Donockley there is some superb musicianship on offer. Overall, I'd say the songs are a notch above "Storms Over Still Water" but markedly below "Passengers". Ultimately, if you like seventies West Coast soft rock, "Heart Full Of Sky" is a good album - but still not a great one, as Bryan Josh isn't Gerry Rafferty and Heather Findlay isn't Christine McVie.