Yep Roc Records has released Nick Lowe’s Lay It On Me EP today, the latest collaboration between the “master songwriter who never takes himself too seriously” (Rolling Stone) and Los Straitjackets, America’s beloved masked men of surf-and-spy guitar instrumentals. The collection includes two brand-new Lowe originals, “Lay It On Me Baby” – written for “Turk Collins,” a fictitious down-bill 60s troubadour that Lowe conjured from whole cloth – and “Don’t Be Nice To Me,” which has been hailed by Rolling Stone as a “breezy summer stunner.” Elsewhere, Lay It On Me features Lowe and Los Straitjackets covering the Dorsey Burnette-penned Brenda Lee hit “Here Comes That Feeling,” as well as Lowe’s first production credit for another artist in 25 years on the Straitjackets’ stinging cover of the Shocking Blue’s “Venus.”
Listen to Lay It On Me digitally and pre-order it on vinyl (available July 17): https://ffm.to/layitonmebaby
In advance of Lay It On Me, Nick Lowe invited Rolling Stone into his London home for an In My Room session, where he performed “Lay It On Me Baby” – with son Roy on drums – from the new EP among a selection of favorites from his illustrious career. Lowe also sat down with the Washington Post on Instagram for a career-spanning chat and remote performance, in addition to an appearance on the Broken Record podcast. The Associated Press has remarked that Lay It On Me contains the elements “that’ve long endeared Lowe to music fans over his more than 40-year career” and the AV Club added the EP is “a welcome reminder that there are still summer afternoons on the horizon.”
At the age of 71, Nick Lowe continues to accrue many of the honors that become a legend most. In 2019, he was the subject of an acclaimed biography by Will Birch,Cruel To Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe, named one of the best music books of the year by Pitchfork. And in January, he accepted the Trailblazer Award at the Americana UK Awards in London, joining esteemed previous recipients Mumford & Sons and Billy Bragg.
