Basic Country Mustard

The last time we heard from Red River Dialect, the bands leader, David John Morris, had recently returned from a nine-month Buddhist meditation retreat in Nova Scotia. Recorded beforehand, and released in September 2019, just after his return to Cornwall, Abundance Welcoming Ghosts represented the early stages of an awakening Morris would further unpack over two subsequent solo efforts, most notably, 2021s Monastic Love Songs. Basic Country Mustard is their first album in six years, and bears a subtle, but noticeable shift in character; it has a sense of humor. A spiritual seeker whose albums have often served as vessels for grief and healing, Morris literate folk-rock radiates tenderness and emotional intensity, but is rarely thought of as a "good time." Reunited here with his bandmates, he sounds as intense as ever, but theres a newfound twinkle in his voice and a sense of play in many of his lyrics. Musically, the group adheres to the raw immediacy that has been their stock in trade, playing live in the room and responding to Morris rich and sometimes abstract poetry like a single organism. The fiery "Torrey Canyon, Lyonesse" is prime Red River Dialect, a rugged bit of U.K. folk-rock in the classic Fairport tradition with some fine work from fiddler Edd Sanders. "Fire BB (Frocks of the Parson)" is a highlight of the gentler sort, as is the radiant "Again, Again." The quirky, uptempo "Discontinuity" better represents this new, more light-hearted edition, as the does the title track where Morris wryly admonishes American honey mustard in favor of something spicier: "its time for a dose of something bellicose, no more David John Morose." Red River Dialect will always be mercurial; theyve mastered this strain of warm, shambling folk-rock, but this new side is a welcome one and elevates their craft. ~ Timothy Monger