The musical partnership of singer/songwriter/guitarists
Harry Manx and
Kevin Breit is given a third outing on their duo album
Strictly Whatever. The two play a variety of stringed instruments that includes, along with many different guitars, banjo, and mohan veena (
Manx) and electric sitar, ukulele, and mandolin (
Breit); Art Avalos provides percussion. Sometimes on these mostly self-written tunes,
Manx and
Breit create a ramshackle folk-rock sound somewhat reminiscent of
Bob Dylan albums of the late '90s and early 2000s, notably on "Nothing I Can Do." That similarity is accentuated when
Manx is singing in his gruff voice, though he can also suggest
Mark Knopfler ("Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep"). The album is a low-key mixture of folk, country, and blues styles full of textured playing and interaction between the two guitarists, who have enough experience with each other to be comfortable trading licks throughout. ~ William Ruhlmann