On May 17, Yep Roc Records will release Nick Lowe’s Love Starvation / Trombone, the latest collaboration between the master songwriter and Los Straitjackets, America's beloved masked men of surf-and-spy guitar instrumentals.
And he's taking to the road too.
Recorded in Woodstock, New York over a short break from touring, the collection features three new Lowe originals and a cover of the obscure Phil Spector-produced gem "Raincoat In The River."
Lowe's second consecutive release with Los Straitjackets brings the ongoing collaboration to new heights, as he notes “The Straitjackets definitely influenced these new songs.
"Love Starvation was written very specifically with them in mind."
“It has a kind of Ritchie Valens feel to it that I thought might suit Los Straitjackets. It’s funny, that song could’ve been a Rockpile song," says Nick of the new release.
"But in a way, I don’t think I was good enough to write a song like that back then. It sounds like old stuff, but I’m just better at doing it now.”
Two years ago, Nick Lowe had almost convinced himself that his days of making records were over. Lowe had ridden into 2018 astride a storied forty-plus year career as an artist, producer and one of the most-revered songwriters of his generation. But suddenly, the affable rocker-next-door felt he had to step back to take stock of his situation.
“I'd been dodging the thought of making more records for a few reasons,” Lowe says. “First, I've never been particularly prolific. I write songs all the time, but the thing about getting older is that I'm extremely self-critical. I can spend quite a long time fiddling around with some little two-and-a-half minute tune, then finally go, 'Oh, I've heard this before so many times,' and just drop it. So I wasn't exactly laden with new material. Plus, to make the kind of records I know how to make is incredibly expensive.
"Never mind that nobody really buys records anymore. Also, the live thing is so easy to do now. You can travel in quite a degree of comfort and be nicely thanked for your efforts. So you think, 'Why would I put myself through making another record?'”
But beyond those practical considerations, Lowe faced a larger emotional impasse - the untimely deaths of his two longtime creative partners, drummer Bobby Irwin and producer Neil Brockbank, in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
Both had been with him since his career renaissance in the mid-1990s. “They were my two closest friends,” Lowe says. “The three of us were always able to discuss the work at hand without worry of offending each other. I miss that rapport, having somebody to say, 'This is terrible' or 'This is great.' Losing them really knocked me off my bike, and I thought, 'I think I've sort of had enough of this. '
“And then along came the Straitjackets.”
The Straitjackets will join with Lowe at The Stables in Milton Keynes on Tuesday, May 28.
Tickets are on sale here
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