The recipe for basic country mustard is unbelievably simple, literally nothing more than water and seeds. Yet, in the hands of Red River Dialect there’s more to Basic Country Mustard than meets the eye. It’s all in how you blend the ingredients; in their case, the combination of John David Morris, mixed with Simon Drinkwater, Coral Kindred-Boothby, Edd Sanders, Kirhan Bhatt and Robin Stratton, form a piquant blending of flavors that surprises the taste buds with lyrical content providing a range of subtle flavors one doesn’t expect.
Their brand of folk rock finds the band subtly shading their songs with Celtic influences like harp and Uilleann pipes just as cleverly as they do when dealing with more ordinary sounds of guitars and organs. The album recorded in a matter of days, never plays the game of spot the influences. Instead, they serve up a unique brand of music, all in service of the songs.
The mixture of lyrics they offer often surprises with their wry sense of humor. ‘Basic Country Mustard’ spends time dealing with a variety of flavors, making clear that some ingredients used in particular regions of the world can lack a particular kick. “Americans stick honey in the mix/ Oh but that is not the fix that this Englishman is after/It’s time for a dose, of something bellicose/ No more David John Morose.” The wordplay with Moore’s name forms a tasty blend. Despite the ingredients, the song is also a mediation on avoiding depression, the distraction of nostalgia and the chill of looking to far inward.
‘Torrey Canyon, Lyonesse’ rocks with vigor while delivering the tale of an oil tanker sinking between Land’s End and the Isles of Scilly. The “marée noire” (black tide) led the Royal Air Force to bomb the hull to the sea floor, where it came to rest in the remains of Lyonesse, a mythic land. The song traces links between the survivors of a lost paradise and others devoted to building climate catastrophe proof bunkers.
The songs of Morris can put the most surprising flavors on display. ‘Fire BB (Frocks of the Parson)’ delivers on a peculiar dream where Morris delivers a baby despite being a man. It only gets stranger from there. “Fire baby kicks, says “where are your guts?”/ You’re hiding behind all these what ifs and buts/ “You’d better not try it” an old woman tuts/ Just then I realize she has a hold of my nuts.”
‘Burn the Clutch’ has little to do with cars but everything to do with a world where AI leaves us lost and somewhat hopeless. “And I can hear my own voice/What a load of shit, says the man/ Who asked an A.I. to write a song/ So that he could pretend/ He was good at being alone.” These songs hone in on a world that isn’t quite what it seems to be, with the jaundiced eye of Morris landing his points with the grace and guile of a master craftsman.
Basic Country Mustard is anything but. A flavorful blend with the just the right sharp notes that charge the tongue, it proves the mastery of Red River Dialect. Sharp and bold, tangy with a bit of fire, it is a rare fusion of flavor.