Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Los Straitjackets - The Further Adventures Of Los Straitjackets
 | Los Straitjackets are the masters of dead pan cool! I think this album is the best they've done to date! If you're a fan, you know. If not, you're on the wrong bus. |
Picks: Cal-Speed, Challenger '64, Blowout, Fortune Cookie, Teen Beast, Catalina, Sasquatch, Nocturnal Twist, Tubby, The Wild Mouse, Mercury, Kapt'N Krunch
Track by Track Review
Surf (Instrumental)
"Cal-Speed" is a very Eddie Angel grinder, but it features a lovely surf guitar break. it has bite and great playing all around.
Surf (Instrumental)
Surf sounds delivery a great song with a superb intro and alternating verses. The muted rhythm and superb bass and drums support the lead guitar perfectly. Much more graceful that Dodge Challenges ever were.
Rock (Instrumental)
Dark fuzz and great drums in mono punch up a very cool riff rocker. "Blowout" is hard driving and simply fun. The wet fuzz glissando transition out of the break is great!
Surf (Instrumental)
"Fortune Cookie" is a dead pan grinner with a cute-cool riff and endearing sound. Even if you want to dislike it, you may not be able to. Too fun!
Minority Report Surf (Instrumental)
Rapid tremolo guitar provides a gimmicky sound to a song that also has some elements of a carnival. this one left me flat. Perhaps "Minority Report" named for the equally goofy segment on the rapidly sinking MSNBC... I don't know.
Surf (Instrumental)
Great Sandy Nelson-ish drums a la "Drums A Go-Go" drive "Teen Beast" really well. Simple guitar lines with Link Wray and Richie Podolor in mind are perfect for the beat, and suggest Sandy Nelson classics like "And then There Were Drums." The demented guitar warbling that occasionally appears is disturbing in a good way. It's quite a monster!
Surf (Instrumental)
Beautiful surf guitar plays an oh-so cool melody in this superb instrumental. "Catalina" is happy, easy flowing, delicately whammied, and completely endearing. I love this!
Surf (Instrumental)
Big distortion garage chords and dark monster bass grumble over heavy drums. "Sasquatch" is a grinder with psychedelic feedback and Cro-Magnon credentials.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Nocturnal Twist" is a splendid number with liquid echoed guitar. It has a light, almost "Music To Watch Girls By" melody.
Surf (Instrumental)
Like Snake-Out's "Fat Lisa," this song has a low brow center delivered at a moderate pace, plus grode bass, spares Stax-Volt guitar licks, and gnarly sax. Its childlike structure is very friendly.
Surf (Instrumental)
Great drums and swirling stereo guitars double picking their way up and down the humps of the ride. "The Wild Mouse" is a little gimmicky, but mostly it's all dead pan fun!
Surf (Instrumental)
"Mercury" is a slow romancer played on baritone guitar against a slow rhythm track. Its slow pace is sort of like watching ketchup pour. Pretty and unusual.
Surf (Instrumental)
Grungy and brooding, edgy and twangy, simple and direct. So, the big question... is this named for the comic or the phone pirate of the early seventies.