Nick Lowe has unveiled plans to release a new studio album, Indoor Safari, on September 13. The 12-track collection is the veteran U.K. singer/songwriter’s first full-length album featuring mostly original tunes in 13 years.
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Lowe recorded Indoor Safari with Los Straightjackets, the Nashville-based surf-rock band whose members wear Mexican wrestling masks when they perform. The group has served as Lowe’s main backing band since 2014.
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Lowe has released a surf-flavored retro-rock song called “Went to a Party” as the lead single from the album. The track is available to stream now, and a companion music video has debuted at Nick’s official YouTube channel.
“Los Straightjackets and I debuted this song live for the first time while opening for Elvis Costello a few years back and it was an absolute smash,” Lowe explained. “The swinging sound of Los Straightjackets provide on the song really resonates in the live environment, so much so that each of the Straightjackets have a greatly deserved writing credit on the song.”
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“Went to a Party” is one of three brand-new tunes on Indoor Safari, which also features seven updated versions of songs Lowe previously recorded with Los Straightjackets that appeared on a series of EPs released from 2018 to 2020. The album also includes two covers—“Raincoat in the River,” which Ricky Nelson recorded in 1965, and the 1964 Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters tune “A Quiet Place.”
On Collaborating with Los Straightjackets
Early in his career, Lowe was known for upbeat pop-rock tunes, such as his 1979 solo hit “Cruel to Be Kind” or songs like “Heart” and “When I Write the Book” that he co-wrote for his old group Rockpile. For many year, though, Nick focused on writing more introspective material. Lowe explained to Rolling Stone that he began returning to his earlier style of writing when he began working on new songs with Los Straightjackets.
“We wanted to do some original songs, and no one’s going to come see an act where four of the five people onstage are wearing wrestling masks and expect to hear deep, meaningful verses of existential angst,” Lowe noted. “People who come to see our shows want to hear these punchy, short tunes. They only blossom after you’ve played these songs to an audience five or six times. That’s when they get cracking.”
Buying Indoor Safari
Indoor Safari can be pre-ordered now. The album is available on CD, standard black vinyl, and as a limited-edition bamboo-colored-vinyl LP.
Lowe’s 2024 Tour Plans
Lowe recently launched a series of concerts in Canada that feature him on a bill with Canadian singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith. Those shows are mapped out through a June 17 performance in Ottawa.
Lowe then will team up with Los Straightjackets for a brief U.S. summer outing. The trek runs from a June 20 concert in Fall River, Massachusetts, through a June 30 gig in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Tickets for Lowe’s shows are on sale now via various outlets, including StubHub.
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