I have been a fan of Mostly Autumn since the release of their debut album in 1999, and I think it is fair to state that I was amongst many when I say that the initial attraction of the band was the voice of Heather Findlay and on The Spirit of Autumn Past the lush flutes of Angela Gordon. Angela remains with the band, and, indeed, was responsible for the most gorgeous vocals on one of my all time favourite MA tracks, The Undertow from White Rainbow, whereas Heather left a number of years ago to branch out on her own (my understanding is that they all remain friends). Those listening to this and the debut album from the duo expecting to hear the loud, proud, and expansive progressive rock of the parent band should prepare for something completely different. Whilst MA have had deep folk influences throughout a grand career, Odin Dragonfly is much better described as sitting deeply within the folk music tradition.

The name stems from the fact that dragonflies were connected to Freya, the Norse goddess of love, fertility and warfare. Freya was famous for her beauty and her knowledge as a magician. It was she who taught Odin the shamanic practices known as seidr. In ancient lore, the dragonfly represents transformation, adaptation and insight (don’t say you don’t get cultural history on this website!). I write this because that really rather perfectly describes this musical adventure - something very much different from MA.

To begin with, we have the mystical chants of The Dimming, three minutes which set the scene for the album to come very nicely. You can imagine yourself out on the Yorkshire Dales sitting around a campfire at night listening to this, and my only wee gripe is that it could have been longer and fuller. Across The Sea is a lovely reflective piece with the duo harmonising against a piano and acoustic guitar.

Circling Ravens is a joy - the first appearance of that wonderful deep flute that Angela plays so adeptly. The official lyric video for this is a treat and I embed it below.

Driving, if there were any justice in this world, would feature on the playlist of major adult radio stations and in the charts. There is, alas, not much musical justice in this world when one considers much of the dross fed to the masses (and it was ever thus), but for those of you who can, close you eyes, imagine that long drive with tears in your eyes following the trauma of leaving which preceded it. Ghostly and really rather good.

Don’t Wait Too Long has a nice vocal and a lilting flute with acoustic guitar building the base of the track. Although I cannot explain why, this track reminds me a lot of the music Paul Simon was writing in the mid-1960’s. It does not sound like a Simon & Garfunkel piece at all, but the harmonies are most certainly in that rich tradition. Come Right To Me is the shortest piece on the album and lifts the pace considerably, and I like the ethereal ending a lot. Four & Twenty Moons is a fantastic track concentrating on a very longstanding folk theme, that of the sailors struggling and yearning to make it home from a long and difficult journey. This is intelligent music, as you will see below.

Beneath Your Armour is a five minute track which, of all the tracks here, is the one I think might fit best within a MA album. The vocals are powerful on this and lyrically seems to deal with the fallout of emotional/romantic breakdown. It is an emotionally powerful piece of music. Fall From The Stars has a lovely piano lead and is a beautifully fragile song, my personal favourite on the album with its themes of inner love and the need to listen a lot more closely.

Rise & Fall is a quieter affair featuring a quite sublime flute mid-section. Gulls is the longest track on the album, weighing in at just over seven minutes long. To me, it pulls together everything which is so right about the duo and their work - vocal harmonies, the best flute extended piece you will hear this side of a Tull album, and some pretty clever acoustic guitar. Diamond Soul closes proceedings and that yearning piano comes back - it is, to me, a truism that no matter how clever electronic instruments are, it is pretty difficult to match the emotion which can be wrought from a (deceptively simple) piano and acoustic guitar. This is a superior love song and the perfect way to simply come down and appreciate the beauty of life.

The album is available from Black Sand Records and also as a download from major streaming services. Here is the link https://www.blacksandrecords.com/odindragonfly I personally purchased it from the iTunes store.

This is not only an album which Mostly Autumn fans will find of interest, but really those, like me, who quite like to take pride in the fact that there is much more to the musical world, and the inhabitants of the progressive lands, than stereotypical tropes that are attached to our genre. Progressive music has, since its inception, taken a huge range of influences - classical, jazz, hard rock, blues, rock n’ roll, and, in the case of this album, folk. I really could not recommend it more highly. A damned good album which can lift the mood of the most darkened soul simply by immersion.