Mostly Autumn - Go Well Diamond Heart Album Review

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Mostly Autumn have been doing the rounds for about 13 years now and in that time have built up something of a cult following in certain circles. I suppose that their brand of symphonic rock music must be something of an acquired taste.

There are moments on Go Well Diamond Heart that truly shine. The twin vocal attack - with two great vocalists - and the stripped down acoustic based sections of songs, such as the first verse of opening track For All We Shared. It is a tender opening to a song that grows and grows into a lumbering prog-rock beast.

The main downfall of Go Well Diamond Heart is that it really does strain under the weight of its own pomposity. There's a two minute 'atmospheric' synthesiser build up introduction before the first song even begins which drags and comes across as overly self-indulgent. All of the songs seem to follow a formula of quiet build up into chugging rock juggernaut, which doesn't particularly allow for any diversity between the songs.

Go Well Diamond Heart is a massively overblown record with tons of layers packed on to it. If you like your songs harking back to the fiction of Tolkein, well upwards of radio-friendly times and drenched in cheesy faux-orchestral synthesiser parts, this might well be one for you.

Ben Walton