Send "Los Straitjackets " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Slantmagazine |
 Right on time for your summer barbecue, Los Straitjackets return with their 12th album of brisk, polished surf rock. Over the decade-plus they've been together, the foursome have collaborated with members of Los Lobos, Reverend Horton Heat, and Nick Lowe, perpetually clad in matching black outfits, Chucks, and personalized Lucha Libre masks. Los Straitjackets always bring a canny wit to their professional, reverent surf revivalism, and after several albums of genre exercises and Spanish-only covers, The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets finds them returning to the traditional West Coast core of their sound. Even for a back-to-basics album, Further Adventures is pretty basic. Unlike the punky pomo calisthenics of Man or Astro-man?, Los Straitjackets traffic almost exclusively in the time-honored structure of the 12-bar blues. And in the spirit of their forerunners the Ventures, they don't employ a lot of superfluous instruments. For the most part, that's okay since their technical facility speaks for itself: You'll never hear tremolo picking quite so steady or bass runs quite so complimentary. The band's love of vintage tones comes through in each song's carefully selected effects. At its best, the synthesis of formula, sound, and some hooky guitar flourishes come together for an old-fashioned hootenanny that'll put the loogey in your spittoon....full text |
| Bullz-eye |
| Sure, guest vocals have consistently been a part of Los Straitjackets' repertoire – even more so in recent years, it seems. But rockabilly/surf instrumentals have always been what this Mexican wrestling mask-bedecked foursome is all about. So, consider The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets a solid return to form. It’s their first since 2007’s Spanish language border rock-centric Rock en Espanol Vol. 1 (produced by Los Lobos’ Cesar Rosas and featuring guest vocals from Mexican rockabilly belter Big Sandy), but it’s the band’s first all-instrumental album since 2003's Supersonic Guitars in 3-D. Of course, Los Straitjackets – Eddie Angel (guitar, original co-founder), Danny Amis (guitar, original co-founder), Pete Curry (bass since ‘98) and Jason "Tean Beat" Smay (drums since ‘05) – have kept their devotees guessing for the better part of their 15-year career. From instrumental surf albums to collaborations with a plethora of guest singers (Reverend Horton Heat, Exene Cervenka, Nick Lowe and Dave Alvin, to name a few on just one album) to a Ventures-style cover of Celine Dion’s "My Heart Will Go On" (from Titanic) to Christmas music to numerous appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to being nominated for a Grammy for Rock ‘N’ Roll City, their 2003 collaboration with Chicago blues musician Eddy Clearwater, they’re the musical equivalent of the legendary and mythical chupacabra: one never knows when or where a sighting will take place, or, more importantly, what form it’s going to take....full text |
| Insound |
| ?It's back to basics as everyone's favorite Mexican wrestling mask-wearing, Chuck Taylor-clad, surf and garage instrumental rock band ditches the guest vocals (in English and Spanish), occasional horns (save for the honking sax on one track), and '60s dance moves to concentrate on what it does best. The baker's dozen songs zip by in a half hour, and while there is little that any Los Straitjackets fan hasn't heard before, the quartet chugs through its paces with requisite retro energy, conjuring up the ghosts of the Ventures, Dick Dale, Link Wray, and -- name your favorite '60s twangy instrumental combo here -- along with writing new wordless classics for its set list. The sound is somewhat rawer and slightly more punk-influenced, especially noticeable on the Lust for Life riff powering Teen Beast....full text |
Los Straitjackets lyrics
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