The Boston-based Weisstronauts are a difficult- to-pigeonhole instrumental rock band. Featuring three lead electric guitarists, the band weaves sometimes bizarre, yet accessible (and occasionally humorous) melodies and harmonies over a rhythm section that can turn from surf to spy to country to psychedelia on a dime. With six critically-acclaimed full length CDs and four EPs to their credit, The Weisstronauts return to their roots with Flat Bottom Cold Greaser, using only guitars for melodic and chordal sounds (no keyboards or loops etc. this time around). Band founder Pete Weiss wrote most of the songs on this album, whereas recent records had seen all the band members contribute individual songs. It’s definitely not a one- man show, though -- guitarists Kenny Lafler and Jeff Norcross bang out creative and visceral licks, while bassist Kevin Quinn and drummer Nathan Logus provide an intuitive, thick foundation. Guest collaborators include NYC fixture Jack Grace (co- writing the Mersey-tinged “Kidney Pie”), indy pop icon Greg “Skeggie” Kendall, whose Tackle Box gem “Teenage Wedding” gets a raveup-style treatment here, and Dana Colley of Morphine, whose saxophone on “Spatial Tick” brings the band into previously-uncharted space- jazz territory. Other genre- hops include raga/post-punk on “Don’t Get Him Mad,” novelty funk on “New England Boiled Dinner” (which includes instructions for preparing the bland, salty regional dish), and a fuzzed-out yet faithful cover of the James Bond Theme. Since the group’s 1999 inception, The Weisstronauts’ music has been played often on NPR, college and commercial radio, as well as in several independent films. The band is fronted by well-known independent rock producer Pete Weiss (Hayley Thompson- King, Charlie Chesterman, Bell X1, Two Dollar Pistols, etc.) "If there’s such a thing as a forward-thinking surf band, Boston’s Weisstronauts are it. Avoiding the purism that makes so many instrumental retro- fetishists seem redundant, The Weisstronauts combine vintage surf and Nashville chicken- pickin’ with cartoon zaniness and spaghetti Western intrigue. They often recall NRBQ’s offbeat musical humor as much as Link Wray’s reverb- drenched Tarantino fodder." - Jack Silverman - Nashville Scene