Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers

Sure, Roger Clyne was a member of the Refreshments. Yeah, he wrote that blur of guitar-pop for the opening credits of King of the Hill. But with his new band, the Peacemakers, Clyne is getting back to his Phoenix roots, back to writing tunes that are, by turns, bleak and comical. Known for drawing inspiration from walking the Chiricahua Mountains near his family’s Arizona ranch, Clyne now writes of tales of Southwestern mayhem. In “The Ballad of Lupe Montosa,” a murdered mescaline bootlegger is avenged by hooch too strong to let its drinkers live. Clyne also throws down “Ashes of San Miguel,” about driving his best friend’s ashes to Mexico. It’s a song that can send grown men sprawling every bit as efficiently as a shovel between the shoulder blades.