Writing this from the other side of the ocean, it is easy for the placenames of American towns to sound magical, otherworldly and iconic. Even the titular Mobridge, South Dakota resonates with the sort of cool lacking in my own part of the world, in places such as Newport Pagnell, Didcot or Swindon. But as the song explains, like many other everyday locations and functional towns, Mobridge is just another place where “nothing ever happens.” I guess distance and unfamiliarity seem to work magic which most destinations can’t live up to.
Musically, the brilliantly named Truckerbomb (look it up if you haven’t heard of such a term before) deliver us the sort of understated, acoustic-driven roots songs which is called (alt-) country or perhaps Americana over there but would just as equally pass as folk music over here. It a simple tune on the face of it but like all such sonic creations, it is all about what is added to those foundations. In this case, it is a blend of shimmering pedal guitar washes, chiming picked acoustics, rocked out, electric six-string punctuation to underline and add weight and a simple, less-is-more rhythm section.
It’s a deceptively simple tune, one extohling the joys and excitement of heading out for pastures new, of leaving the local everyday boredom behind and finding a new life. It also reminds us that the grass is always greener elesewhere, that a better life awaits us just over the next hill. That may or may not be true but you only find out if you go and look.
