Los Plantronics
La Orchestra Diabolica
Mariachi Productions/Tuba

With so much fire in their music, Los Plantronics is sure not to have any trouble getting through another cold winter. The sparks fly when these guys rips through their very own brand of south of the border mariachi-surf, lets reach for the tequila, load up our '45 and join the madness. Imagine Dick Dale or Link Wray raised on a diet of Spaghetti-westerns, cactus liquor, mad mariachi orchestras and Santo wrestling in a Mexican brothel, and maybe you can come close to understand what Los Plantronics sounds like. Or maybe not, this bonecrushing orchestra delivers surf as far from The Beach Boys as it's far from the sea. It's no problem to spot the sources for their inspiration, they acknowledges quite a few of them on this record. With both feet solid planted in fifties and sixties trash-culture, they can't go wrong covering the likes of Dick Dale, The Osmonds and Woody Guthrie. Nice to see is the cover of one of the pioneers of this surf-inspired instrumental style here in Norway's Willy B. I'll imagine he's proud of their fiery version of "Sidewinder". One of my favorites are when they slow down for the moody "Dia De Los Muertos", where my mind flashes with images of Django dragging his coffin along the sand, his hands all crushed and nothing in mind but gruesome revenge. This is truly "Tijuana Rock'n'roll - Hecho en Noruega". And we have of course the final nail in the coffin, "Black Mariachi", a monster of dark riffs and foreboding saxes, somebody's got reasons to fear for their lives tonight ...

True to their ideals the recordings are done straight to twoinch tape in an absolutely analogous studio owned by Don Dons of WE fame. His Hangaroundsounds studio is a sanctuary for vintage equipment and produces an impeccable sound, let's just hope someday they'll go all the way and release this gem on vinyl.

Not many of the original members are left on this fourth CD/LP by Los Plantronics, but somehow they pick up new members who fits right in and brings their ow particular skills to the band. La Orchestra Diabolica may be their best effort so far, and let us hope they'll be here a long time to warm our cold hearts, even if it's the devils fire they bring.

Copyright © 2003 Killer