Los Straitjackets will be releasing their forthcoming album “Somos Los Straitjackets” on 19th September 2025 through Yep Roc Records, It is the masked quartet’s first new album of all-original material in over 13 years. Los Straitjackets have been a leading surf rock band for over three decades. They have toured extensively making instrumental records, and also assuming the role of all-star backing band along the way, most notably with Nick Lowe for over a decade. It’s that collaboration that fuels Somos Los Straitjackets. The lineup is Eddie Angel, longtime bassist Pete “Mr. Pete” Curry, drummer Chris “Gringo Starr” Sprague and guitarist Greg “Gregario” Townson. Playing hundreds of songs with and without Lowe, this four-piece has coalesced into a tight rocking outfit.
After recording with producer Alex Hall (JD McPherson, The Cactus Blossoms) at Reliable Recorders for Lowe’s 2024 album “Indoor Safari”, the band knew they had met the man who could capture the renewed sound of this group. They began by tracking early demos at Pete Curry’s Powow Fun Room studio in LA, then continued to fine-tune the new songs at soundchecks and even peppered them into live sets. The result is a down and dirty album filled with wit, twang and thunderous rock n’ roll. “Somos” also features two re-recordings of pandemic-era remote compositions (Townson’s ‘Genesee River Rock’ and Angel’s ‘April Showers’) as well as a reimagined version of ‘Spinout’, a track recorded by Eddie’s other band The Neanderthals (bolstered by some guest vocals from voice-over king Tom Kenny).
“The recording process we used this time was different,” stated Angel. “We got together numerous times at the studio to work up the songs, then we recorded demos to listen back to. Having some time to tweak the songs, and in some cases play them live, really helped when it came time to record.”
The band has put out their second single from the album. ‘Polaris’ was written by founding member/guitarist Angel and was inspired by the vintage tones of surf rock’s golden age. The accompanying video follows a once-legendary luchador exiled from the squared circle, embarking on a surreal pilgrimage to play the arcade game titled “Polaris”. “This is a song I had been noodling around with that Greg added a cool guitar approach to,” said Angel. “We wanted to have a song as cool as ‘Telstar,’ one of the great instrumentals of the rock ’n’ roll era.” Of the video, he continued, “I actually wasn’t aware of the video game when I wrote this song, but it’s a perfect fit.”
This is just an absolute ridiculous band; not worth to mention! Please let me know why they are wearing masks?????