The Hokum Syndicate – Keep On Walking
Natural Records – 2025
14 tracks; 48 minutes
The Hokum Syndicate is a four man band from The Netherlands whose music harks back to earlier times but uses lyrics that relate to the world today, all making for an entertaining listen. The band is Rob Geboers on piano and accordion, Marco Oonincx on double bass, Fokke de Jong on drums and percussion and Bo Brocken on vocals, guitar, tenor banjo, harmonica, kazoo and jug; Ad van Erp adds clarinet to four cuts, William Kroot trumpet to three. Bo wrote all the material apart from one traditional tune and is also the head honcho at Natural Records who released the recent Sugar Ray & The Bluetones set Blues From Sibculo.
The music is very varied, as demonstrated by the opening trio of songs: “DIY” is a neat summary of the band’s style with a tune that is straight from the 1920s era with jazzy piano and even some scat singing, the lyrics about the pleasures of home improvement; “Leaving New Orleans” adds trumpet and clarinet to give a lazy NO feel while the trumpet stays on board to add a border feel to the jagged rhythms of “I Live In A Ghost Town”. The clarinet returns on “Don’t Spill It On The Floor”, a frenetic hokum tune that again reminds us of 1920’s, pianist Rob stepping out for a sprightly solo and Bo adding kazoo.
The strange title “Carrots And Sprouts” celebrates ‘growing your own’ in the back yard while “A Suitcase And A Kiss Goodbye” includes a walking bass feature. The entry of the clarinet on ‘My Sweet Jelly Roll” again transports us back in time before we get two familiar titles though both are Bo originals: “Taxman Blues” finds Bo in despair over the latest demand from the IRS on a toe-tapper with harp, piano and brushed drums whilst “The Wanderer” features Bo’s banjo. Ad’s clarinet makes its final appearance on “The Scoopin’ Spoon Jig”, a pure 1920’s rag, introduced by Bo as a novelty dance and great fun. “Going Back To The Country” drops the pace for a gentle ballad, Bo needing to get back to the land: “I’ve seen too much of bricks and stone, I’m tired and all alone”; you can hear the jug in the background and the piano is again excellent, though the modelling may not be to everyone’s taste! The title track is another jaunty number with Bo’s banjo and lyrics about keeping going as “there’s brand new roads to find”. The album closes with two contrasting numbers: the traditional “The Longest Train I Ever Saw” is a very fast-paced number, followed by “Closed Front Door”, a quiet, introspective tune with just Bo’s guitar and muted trumpet.
If you enjoy the music of the 20’s/30’s with something of a modern twist this album is right up your street.
