Los Straitjackets

Instrumental acts are always a tough sell, but an instrumental ensemble that fancies wrestling masks for stagewear has to be an A&R man’s worst nightmare. Los Straitjackets formed in the late 1980s, but it wasn’t until the Tarantinoization of pop culture a few years later that the SoCal quartet suddenly found itself in the cool-kids clique. Reviving the retro surf sound and adding modern production twists, the Straitjackets could be the house band at Jack Rabbit Slims. Besides the inclusion of a pair of kitschy-cool 3-D glasses, the outfit’s seventh effort doesn’t offer anything Los Straitjackets hasn’t done before — tremelo-mad guitar phrases, finger-snapping snare taps and cavernous echo make up the foundation for every tune. “DiPinto Twist” is barely distinguishable from “San Diego Shutdown,” “Galaxy Drive” or any of Supersonic‘s other thirteen tracks. Jon Spencer, Don Fleming, DJ Bonebrake and Billy Zoom make guest appearances, but their contributions add nothing. Like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones before it, the Straitjackets’ oldies revival has gone from hip to passé in the blink of an eye. With surf-rock kings such as Dick Dale still touring the planet, the band’s ongoing existence begs the question: What happens to a novelty act after the novelty wears thin? Five bucks says they take off the masks.