Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Diamond Rainbows’

Diamond Rainbows is the fifth album from the Julie July Band and their fourth album of original material. Their first, back in 2018, was a tribute to the late Sandy Denny, representing a foundational plank of their live show. Although Denny herself drew on a much wider range of influences than the folk rock label usually given to her would imply, with each successive release the Julie July Band have been on a mission to broaden the palette of musical textures they draw from. The results have been consistently pleasing and Diamond Rainbows is no exception. The joyfully optimistic ‘Sunny Day’ with its jaunty fiddle playing is a classic slice of English folk rock while opening track ‘Riverside’ has that lush West Coast feel from the golden age of introspective singer-songwriter albums. The Eagles-ish ‘Just a Little’ again picks up that West Coast vibe. Meanwhile, ‘Medicine Man’ with its energetic rhythms coupled with gorgeous vocal harmonies put me in mind of songs like Fleetwood Mac’s…