Mojo Dingo’s debut album provided a short but enjoyable excursion into the blues. The music contained within didn’t necessarily add anything new to the genre, but some great playing and a really heartfelt sound combined with obvious nods to a few classic influences resulted in a record that had an almost ageless heart. Three years on, ‘The Road’ brings essentially more of the same, but among the eight guitar driven tunes, there are a couple of very welcome deviations which show the band’s ability to work a bluesy core isn’t necessary as limited as first impressions might suggest.

‘Lonely Road’ sets the tone, opening with a guitar part that sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughan playing with a funky edge, before branching out into a groove laden riff. The sharp edged guitar tones are used as brilliant musical punctuation against a fluid bassline, which immediately sets up something in the more soulful and melodic style, but its the swirls of organ lurking beneath that provide some of the greatest music here. At least that’s the case until a superb guitar solo rises. Here, it becomes much clearer that William Bourke is a fine player, since he delivers a urgent melody, but in a really accessible late 80s style that would suit an on form Robert Cray, before changing the mood to tease with something a little jazzier. Lyrically, things are a little repetitive, and certainly simple; that doesn’t matter, however, since it’s very obviously the music that’s designed to do the heavy lifting. A similar approach is taken throughout ‘Sweet Little Darling’ when a choppy but bright sounding rhythm guitar strikes out against a brilliant organ sound and bassist Steve McInerny holds everything together with another funk oriented performance. Ensuring the finer points of the track feel different, the featured solo actually comes from the organ rather than the guitar, and its great to hear some busy playing that harks back to Graham Bond, but also Steve Winwood in his Traffic days, before everything gets even busier for a great climax. This is the sound of a really tight band really understanding their craft; a retro mood is recycled with a superb energy, which gives a great insight into how Mojo Dingo might sound in the live setting. In short, if you like your blues with a hefty rhythm ‘n’ blues undercurrent, this is a must-hear. ‘The Road’ has no obviously weak tracks, but this stands as one of the Dingo’s greatest tunes to date.

Slowing down, ‘Old Nell’ opens with a wavering guitar tone that’s very 70s, before branching out to share some great, clean sounding lead work. Those guitars are rooted within Mojo Dingo’s love of the blues, but the summery sounding backdrop gives more of a psychedelic surf-oriented feeling – more so than fellow Aussies Ocean Alley who’ve often been labelled as such. This occasionally sounds like a modern update on ‘Albatross’, sharing a hazy, slow burning melody which suits the band’s broad talents more than admirably. With a punchy groove and fairly predictable melodic blues core, ‘Make You Mine’ sounds far more like a throwback to the debut record, but fans will be fine with that, especially with Bourke dropping in some strong guitar lines, and ‘Treat You Right’ works another fine funky blues with a blues/jazz tone that feels very natural. For fans of McInerny’s bass, this number will be an obvious highlight as his busy playing is high in the mix throughout, even punching through at times where the harmony vocals should typically sit at the forefront of everything. It’s a very busy track, but with a soaring lead break and an impassioned vocal, it never loses sight of the blues. You’ll certainly find a couple of stronger tracks along ‘The Road’ overall, but this is more than holds its own against the band’s previous work, even if it appears to end very prematurely!

Another standout, ‘Fine Day For The Blues’ plays very much like an old Blues Traveler classic, but with William Bourke and Gerard Allman’s guitars filling space instead of a busy harmonica. As you might expect, the band are able to approach the sassy groove with ease, and a bright sounding rhythm guitar sits very comfortably against a natural vocal. It doesn’t appear to test any of the members on a musical level, but this is further testament to how naturally they approach their slightly funky blues style, with drummer Alex Perminov dropping in a couple of great fills along the way. Opting for something in a slightly meatier style, ‘So Refined’ cranks the guitars to add weight to a repetitious riff, and brings something slightly different again when the expected organ fills are replaced by a moody harmonica. With touches of The Bluesbreakers circa 1995 and a nod to Jeff Healy, this comes with some big musical boots, but Mojo Dingo’s concession to a melody remains very clear, whilst the album highlight ‘Baby’s Got Rhythm’ offers an unexpected mix of blues guitar and swing rhythm. More akin to the late 90s work from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, this supplies a great platform for Allman’s cleaner tones which fuse blues and jazz with a seamless charm. If anything stands out here, though, it’s the guesting horn section: from the sassy baritone sax solo to the punctuating trumpet blasts, everyone plays their arses off, and repeat spins never weaken the impact.

With a running time just shy of half an hour, Mojo Dingo leave little room for filler, once again, and for fans of blues with a slight rock edge, there’s precious little time for boredom to set in. As before, this is a record that showcases great playing and a heartfelt attitude that just works. There are a couple of surprises to be found here, but in the main, by taking their time and not trying to be too smart, these Aussies have made delivering that “difficult second album” seem very easy indeed.

September 2024