There’s an old-time feel to the music stemming from the Netherlands these days. Well, if your band’s moniker is The Oldtime Stringband that is. With the living and recording quarters situated somewhere in the vicinity of Amsterdam, The Oldtime Stringband has developed an authentic take on bluegrass music with links to Americana and folk seeping into the mix as well. With three previous albums to their name and originally “…formed as a musical backdrop to a documentary about the cow-painter, Ruud Spil”, The Oldtime Stringband issue a fourth album by the name of ‘Pretty Little Horses’. Beginning with ‘Cluck Ol’ Hen’ and followed by ‘Old Yeller Dog’, the scene is set for tiny outpost communities situated in the outback (of your choosing) where lands are worked by day and music, storytelling and consumption of the local hooch are partaken in by night. The aforementioned song duo really brings to the fore The Oldtime Stringband’s qualities for delivering a genuine old-time sound that could be playing to an audience during the 1700s or earlier such is the attention to detail where the focus is bluegrass with heavy folk leanings. From such a latter reference, the album’s title track is traditional folk and performed as a lullaby with beautiful, tender vocals supplied by Shelly O’Day and supported by the faintest trimmings of acoustic guitar, mandolin, upright bass and banjo. It’s the jewel in the crown here! Elsewhere, the four-piece band deliver a fine instrumental with ‘White Face’, and then follow with the warm and full of character ‘Old Man At The Mill’, before concluding with ‘Long Black Veil’; a reflective and tearstained duet delivered with conviction. A fine end to a more than fine album that sees The Oldtime Stringband firing on all cylinders.

Coming out of Texas was the guitar maestro and singer Johnny Guitar Watson. Having started out learning to play the piano from a young age, Watson made the move to performing on guitar after his grandfather purchased said instrument when his grandson was eleven years old. However, despite the newfound love for guitar playing, it was the piano that provided Watson’s first breakthrough in terms of entering the music industry where he cut his first records for Federal (1952) under the moniker Young Johnny Watson. The “Guitar” segment entered Watson’s stage name once a screening of Joan Crawford’s ‘Johnny Guitar’ had been seen, and then subsequent releases for Class and King Records to name but two. He was renowned for his flamboyant styles of dress and wild antics on stage, which is not difficult to comprehend considering the varying styles presented via the EP ‘For Gangsters and Lovers’. While it’s a rhythm and blues and strong blues record, it remains the interesting way Johnny Guitar Watson trades these styles. For example, one moment it’s the rhythm and blues/rock ‘n’ roll mash up of ‘The Bear’ that grabs you by the shirt collar, then to be greeted by a laidback, heavy blues guitar during ‘She Moves Me’, which slowly gathers some momentum yet remains utterly compelling due in large to Watson’s ability to captivate one’s attention with his vocal. ‘Gangster of Love’ is universal knowledge by now and has lost none of its appeal. The final cut ‘Hot Little Mama’ is high on tension where you can hear Watson almost strangulating the neck of his guitar and living up to that “attacking style” he was renowned for. It’s a breath-taking finale and one that offers further evidence of the exciting talent that was Johnny Guitar Watson.

After a stint in the shade, Bonita & The Blues Shacks make a return with album number two. The latest creation ‘Sweet Thing’ arrives after the eponymously titled debut back in 2015 and continues with the same line up consisting of one of Europe’s finest, B. B. & The Blues Shacks and up-front Bonita supplying the vocals. With the new album being made up of carefully selected cover songs and original compositions, in addition to mixing up the overall rhythm and blues sound with elements of soul, jump blues and more traditional stylings, Bonita & The Blues Shacks really get to work with a total of sixteen tracks. From such mammoth pickings, it’s the opening ‘He Made A Woman Out Of Me’ that raises attention due to its leanings towards soul music and is a bold choice to begin with, and then followed by what sounds like a soul track judging by its title (‘Momma’s Goin’ Dancin’) lets the blues in via some deft guitar playing and adds the element of surprise. ‘Hottest Wings in Town’ continues the blues workout and offers a streetwise perspective both in sound and lyrics. There’s great duets to be had here as well with the engaging ‘So Close’, which happens to be one of their own, and then followed by the resurrected archive of ‘That’s My Baby’ rolled out in more traditional guise and all the better for it. It’s certainly a mixed bag of styles that flows throughout the album ‘Sweet Thing ‘and therefore offering something for all blues and rhythm and blues supporters, but when the traditional route is given some airtime, then it’s where Bonita & The Blues Shacks truly shine.

Just as its title suggests, the tracks complied for this latest instalment in the Koko Mojo series consisting primarily of blues and old-fashioned rhythm and blues (the way it should be) is a combination of these two genres that do their upmost to maintain a rockin’ beat throughout. As with previous titles, the names littered here will be familiar to many (Arthur Crudup, Little Junior Parker, Big Al Downing, Bo Diddley et al) but there are many that will be less familiar (Alonzo Scales, Billy Boy, J. B. Lenoir et al). With any such lists being subjective to individual knowledge of course, the long list of artists given airtime during ‘Combination Boogie’ is a delight to behold. Kicking off with what sounds ramshackle at first yet develops into a full-blown gallop of rockin’ blues complete with harmonica is an early shot of medicine supplied by Doctor Ross and ‘Cat Squirrel’. Maintaining this lively start is the excellent ‘Goin’ Back Home’ by Cousin Leroy that is packed with details and suggests numerous paths this song could suddenly take off in such is the musicianship at the centre of this record. At other junctures you will find Silas Hogan giving a straight rendition (and one aided by the harmonica) with ‘Lonesome La La’, and then greeted by full band versions of Jimmy McCracklin ‘Gonna Tell Your Mother’ and Tender Slim ‘Don’t Cut Out On Me’. The combined blues and rhythm and blues, and not forgetting the dash of rock ‘n’ roll supplied on various occasions, ‘Combination Boogie’ is yet another reason to reach for this compilation series because once more it’s of the highest standard.

Strictly limited to 130 copies, latest album ‘El Mar De Junio’ (‘The Sea Of June’) from Argentinian Ciro Berenguer sees the musical composer and guitarist set out his stall in a combined use of field recordings, electronics, loops and electric guitar that results in much sound experimentation. With the sound decibels barely rising above three and the approach to the majority of tracks being minimalist at best, it remains an interesting collection of atmospheric tracks that can shine gloriously in a moment (‘Antu’) as well as remain touching and tender during others (‘Camino Al Espinillo’, ‘Luz Entre Los Bosques’). With the album taking its time to bear fruit, and finally being completed during the summer and autumn of 2017, ‘El Mar De Junio’ brings together six years’ worth of memories and emotions (Ciro Berenguer now resides in Barcelona, Spain) that are transformed into a collage of sounds that quietly go about their business and offer moments of genuine beauty.

A nicely packaged vinyl EP featuring four lesser-known tracks from self-proclaimed “performer” Andre Williams. Celebrated by a diverse range of artists including The Cramps and The John Spencer Blues Explosion amongst others and enjoying something of chequered career in and outside of music, Andre Williams is given a fresh platform by Koko Mojo Records. As mentioned, the four songs remain somewhat obscure when up against the likes of ‘Bacon Fat’, ‘Jailbait’ and ‘Pass The Biscuits, Please’. Having said that, the tracks selected for this EP release – ‘Don’t Touch’, ‘Hey Country Girl’, ‘Goin Down To Tia Juana’, ‘Just Want A Little Lovin’ are more conventional for the times because the previously mentioned tracks possessed qualities that suggested Williams was ahead of his time. Taking nothing away from the songs showcased here as they’re equally compelling with much vibrancy in the rhythms of the EP’s title track and pursuing ‘Hey Country Girl’, and then diversity given, along with a touch of sophistication, to the Latin influenced ‘Goin Down To Tia Juana’. Just edging it, however, is the closing ‘Just Want A Little Lovin’ that is most certainly raw yet suggestive of many things in terms of its approach that could be interpreted as near-drunken stupor yet equally confident in terms of its desires. It’s a thrilling finale to a thoroughly engaging EP.