Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets have been friendcrushin' for a while, with LSJ having joined Lowe as a backing band on a few occasions. That leads us to this album of instrumental Nick Lowe covers. Not too familiar with Nick Lowe? Me neither, but these translate very well and don't simply feel like guitars "singing" vocal parts. Los Straitjackets have long ago expanded their sound past the 60's surf vocabulary, so the latin percussion on "Checkout Time" (for instance) gives you a song that doesn't sound like Nick Lowe or The Surfaris, and "I Read A Lot" takes major cues from exotica. It's a pretty subdued album, often moreso than the originals, but LSJ's musicianship should make this feel fresh no matter what angle you approach from.
Blog Stuff
the baltic side - hope (hope)
bradipos iv - manella Mia (The Partheno-Phonic Sound of)
the volcanos - beatnik bandit (surf quake)
los straitjackets - I live on a battlefield (What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets)
the surf zombies - Samurai Shakedown (it's a... thing!)
danny james his guitar & band - no yo (45)
the nighthawks - muddy (45)
jerry starr - side steppin' (45)
the delancey's - high voltage (45)
Big M's - Get Going (Bloodshot! The Gaity records story)
freddy and the heartaches - womp womp (strummin mental vol 1)
Lookit dat devil face in the picture. That's the new Satan's Pilgrims! Also got some new Wave Chargers and Five Fingers with Parasol as well as well as still steamin' stuff from Los Straitjackets, The Deep, The Isotopes, Man or Astro-man?, WJLP, and The Telestons. PLUS! I picked up some cool stuff at Record Raid including a killer eleki record by The Spacemen and THREE Louisiana instrumentals -- you don't see those every day.
Five Fingers with Parasol are a trad surf band with with an energy that matches their look. Entirely upbeat, and lighthearted enough to mix The Simpsons theme into their song "Piedra, Papel o Cangrejo". For a trio it sounds surprisingly full, though they are sometimes helped by a fourth guitarist. Sometimes it's hard to convey how good a plain ol' trad surf record can be, but Five Fingers here have done a great job of tapping into that simple essense of fun that real surf is all about. It oughta put a smile on your face.
For whatever reason, I skipped over The Wave Chargers first EP, but now that they've struck again I'm paying attention. They play crashing, fast and loud trad surf with a lo-fi production. Definitely getting a little bit of an Apemen vibe from it and they namedrop Les Cavaliers and The Wangs, which I think are appropriate too. Though all tracks are great, the cover of Johnny and the Hurricanes' "Crossfire" really nailed it.
Digital download via bandcamp or 7" vinyl. Would love an LP from these guys.
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