Los Straitjackets
Somos Los Straitjackets
Yep Roc
It’s been a long road for Los Straitjackets, and though the masked musicians have recently been enjoying a detour as longtime crooner Nick Lowe’s backing band, on stage and in the studio, Somos Los Straitjackets is a return to cruising speed.
As the name might imply, this is a presentation on who Los Straitjackets really are, which is to say an instrumental guitar band with impeccable taste and superlative chops, never mind the gaudy wrestler masks they wear. There are very few words to be heard on here, and they tend to be limited to the occasional call-out of the song’s name, but the guitar says it all, whether languidly dripping out notes like honey on a cool day or rapidly clattering them out like coins from a jackpot. Behind Eddie Angel’s masterful string work, we hear the capable twang and rumble of rhythm guitar (Greg Townson), bass (Mr. Pete Curry), and drums (Chris Sprague).
With fifteen tracks on here, there’s something for every mood, to bring your energy level up, or down, or all the way around. There’s the traditional pipeline twist-out of “Spinout,” the easy swagger of the opening “Bumper Car,” and themes appropriate for every manner of sitcom and/or cop show.
