Nick Lowe has unveiled the new original “Don’t Be Nice To Me,” the latest single from Lay It On Me, his third EP with Los Straitjackets, out June 5 on Yep Roc Records. The song, a classic sad sack tale of a “big galoot” who’s too proud to beg (“yes I need a ride to the station / but I’d rather walk in the rain”), finds the Straitjackets in a mellow tone as Lowe strolls Lonely Avenue.
“Don’t Be Nice To Me” and the previously-released “Lay It On Me Baby” are the two new Lowe compositions on this upcoming limited-edition EP, which also features road-tested fan-favorites like the Dorsey Burnette-penned Brenda Lee hit “Here Comes That Feeling” and Los Straitjackets’ fiery instrumental take on Shocking Blue’s “Venus.” The latter marks Lowe’s first production credit for another artist in 25 years, bringing his ongoing partnership with the Straitjackets to new heights on their third EP together in two years.
All the songs on Lay It On Me were recorded at Sawhorse Studios in St. Louis, MO, at the conclusion of Lowe’s most recent US tour with Los Straitjackets in Autumn 2019.
Pre-order the limited edition EP here: https://ffm.to/layitonmebaby
Lowe’s “gracefully raucous” (The Ringer) previous two EPs with the Straitjackets - 2018’s Tokyo Bay / Crying Inside and 2019’s Love Starvation / Trombone - earned widespread acclaim and high profile fans including Anthony Mason, who interviewed Lowe for CBS This Morning in 2019, and Conan O’Brien, who chose them to perform “Tokyo Bay” during his final week of music bookings in 2018. Last year, 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 this past January, he accepted the Trailblazer Award at the Americana UK Awards in London, joining esteemed previous recipients Mumford & Sons and Billy Bragg.
In the run-up to the new EP, Lowe sat down with the Washington Post on Instagram Live to discuss life in quarantine, and performed a Rolling Stone “In My Room” session with his son Roy on drums. For “In My Room,” the two teamed up for a stripped-down version of “Lay It On Me Baby,” and the timelier-than-ever isolation ballad “I Read A Lot,” among others.
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