DOG TRUMPET – RIVER OF FLOWERS
“He was going out on the town / With Mr Alcohol and Mrs Marijuana”. It only takes two lines and already you know you are immersed in another delightful slice of life as seen through the colourful, skewed and wide-open eyes of brothers Peter O’Doherty and Reg Mombassa. While they may never escape the “former Mentals” tag, they have been making music as Dog Trumpet for some 18 years now, and River of Flowers represents three years of writing (in between painting, eating, drinking and the occasional friendly conversation). With extensive use of mandolin, Dobro and slide guitar, this album has an unashamedly roots and folk feel, with a touch of the psychedelic – Invisible Eyelids – thrown in for good measure. Lyrically the brothers have gone for simpler tales like the family history of Manchester, telling the tale of their mother and her journey from Manchester to New Zealand: “Then she sailed away alone / She sailed across the sea / She sailed off to New Zealand / To have my brother and me”. This simpler lyrical approach lets the warm mesh of the instruments breathe life into these tales. Without ever being flashy, just an Irish whistle here, a trumpet there, the musicianmanship is a highlight here. Yet another pair of Kiwis we will happily call our own.
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