While earlier records are playful forays into the genre, The Velvet Touch of... (their third full-length release) is the result of endless touring and the confidence that comes with it. This time out, while still reverential of the past (their music honors the greats like Dick Dale and the Ventures), they wildly color the mix, with rewarding results. From the grinding swagger of "Rockula" to the blitzkrieg of buzzing guitars in "Hornet's Nest," Velvet Touch should appeal to rock fans of all persuasions. A hint of world music drifts through tracks like "Tabouli," with its sensuous Middle-Eastern feel, and the brassy, Tex-Mex flavored "Tijuana Boots." The band brazenly turns Louis Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing," into a swinging surfabilly number, and the Telstar-treatment of "My Heart Will Go On" (yes, from Titanic) is a showstopper, played with a keen awareness of Hollywood melodrama. (The best part is that they seem completely sincere.) This is an outstanding rock record, perfect for a dose of fun anytime. [Lorry Fleming]
Los Straitjackets' third album, The Velvet Touch of los Straitjackets, contains more witty, knowing guitar instrumentals that appropriate the best of surf, jangly pop, rockabilly, and spaghetti Western soundtracks with aplomb. Driving surf numbers like "Tempest" and "Hornet's Nest" are mixed with sweeter sounds like "Close to Champaign" and a cover of "My Heart Will Go On" that places the song closer to the Pacific shoreline than Atlantic icebergs. Klezmer and Mexican elements flavor songs like "Tabouli" and "Tijuana Boots," and while the group's inherent cleverness and kitsch occasionally veer into self-parody, Velvet Touch is another solid effort from an always entertaining band. [Heather Phares]
This is one of my favorite Straitjackets slabs [along with ''The Utterly Fantastic...'', "Encyclopedia Of Sound" and "Supersonic Guitars"] and probaly one of their best. High energy Surf, Psychobilly, Exotica, Tex Mex instros in unbeatable LOS STRAITJACKETS style. Say... Kawanga!
