Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers
No More Beautiful World
EmmaJava Recordings
By Al Kaufman
If you know rock and roll, you know Roger Clyne. He had a minor hit with his first band, The Refreshments, called “Banditos” (“Everybody knows the world is full of stupid people/But I’ve got the pistol so I get the pesos/Yeah, that seems fair”). The song still gets radio airplay today, and when most people hear it they cannot help but shout the words from the tops of their lungs. The song is full of adventure and cockiness and personifies the dusty Arizona/Mexico border towns that Clyne calls home. And it rocks.
Clyne disbanded the Refreshments after just two releases when he grew sick of the major label music scene. He formed the Peacemakers in 1999. Over the course of their four studio albums, the Peacemakers have matured from a bunch of party boys who like to drive into Mexico and drink tequila, to grown men who value peace, love and the environment, but still like to dip south of the border for some fun. For their small but rabid following, they put on one of the best alcohol soaked live shows in rock.
No More Beautiful World is Clyne and the Peacemakers most mature album to date. This isn’t necessarily a good thing. Sometimes his pleas for us all to just get along and love one another seem simplistic. His all out rockers, most notably “Hello New Day,” “Goon Squad,” and “Andale,” don’t quite kick up the dust of his earlier work, but certainly crawl under skin after repeated listens. They will make fine additions to the band’s shows. “Lemons” and “Contraband” hint of the dangerous adventures that Clyne likes to take his listeners on. And while the reggae beat of “Bottom of the Bay” seems a bit contrived, at least it’s fun.
We all get older. Clyne does, too. He’s trying to age gracefully, but thankfully he is still not entirely ready to go gently into that good night. He still has a few more parties to attend and margaritas to drink.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers play Smith’s Olde Bar on Tuesday, April 24. 8 PM. $15 (advance) |