On a scale of one to kowabunga, Los Straitjackets’ debut album is mighty nifty, a collection of salty reverb-drenched originals with colorful titles like “Gatecrusher,” “Jetty Motel,” “Caveman” and “Tailspin.” Even if they add nothing new to the genre (though Angel’s memorable “University Blvd.” has the makings of a twang repertoire standard), Los Straitjackets uphold its great traditions in jubilantly timeless fashion. Hidden behind garish wrestling masks and a linguistically misleading name, this Nashville quartet is powered by guitarists/songwriters Eddie Angel and Danny Amis, whose lengthy career shooting the rock’n’roll curl began in Minneapolis, where he led the Overtones for one great vocal 45, “Red Checker Wagon,” and wound its way, in the early ’80s, through New York’s Raybeats (whose “The Calhoun Surf” gets covered on The Utterly Fantastic and Totally Unbelievable Sound of Los Straitjackets) and a 1983 solo EP ( Whiplash!) before making that big turn south. No matter how many groups have gone out to play in the past and never returned, surf is always up for a few twang-crazed instrumental quartets dead set on revisiting the mythical beach to recreate the crisp, bracing sounds of early-’60s string-slingers like Dick Dale, Duane Eddy and the Ventures.
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