Peacemakers
Peacemakers' new album is best recording to date
By THOMAS BOND
January 16, 2004
Album review grade: A
Roger Clyne calls himself a restless spirit on his band's
new album Americano! and the description suits the
scope of its tunes as well the songwriter touches on themes
from the global to the personal. That he does so with equal
grace and aplomb is what makes the disc the band's best
yet and Clyne's finest songwriting to date.
God Gave Me a Gun turns the righteous anger of killing
in the name of deity inside out to reveal the absurdity of
anyone on either side of any conflict proclaiming divine
blessing to take a life in the name of the power that gave
it. The lyric Take an eye for an eye and make the whole world
blind lays out in a dozen words the final result of that
mentality.
As the disc's title the word American in a foreign
tongue suggests, the album is full of Clyne's ruminations
on what it means to be a U.S. citizen as part of the larger
world. Some of the Americans are ugly Americans, but we
know we ain't all that way, he sings in Counterclockwise.
Like many of his countrymen, Clyne is conflicted by the
role the U.S. plays on the global stage, eloquently noting
at one point: I see the fighter planes tearing across the
desert sky/Do I curse them or cheer them on? I still can't
decide. Elsewhere, he waxes philosophical. Loco to
Stay Sane is self-explanatory and Leaky Little Boat
is a first cousin to The Police's Message in a Bottle.
As has been the case dating to his days with The Refreshments,
Mexico plays a central role in several of Clyne's tunes
here. A place of enchantment (Mexican Moonshine), violence
(Switchblade) and tranquility (Counterclockwise),
it's never failed him as a muse and like salsa, his songs
are sprinkled with south-of-the-border trumpets and
percussion.
As good as the preceding tunes are, they're trumped
by a pair of heartfelt love ballads toward the album's
end. Your Name on a Grain of Rice is a gorgeous tale of a
tiny souvenir reminding a narrator separated from his
significant other of just how much that love and lover mean.
Love, Come Lighten My Load is a yearning plea to relieve
loneliness with the perfect line, An empty heart is the
heaviest weight to hold/Love, come lighten my load.
Meanwhile, the Peacemakers backing is as sharp as ever,
particularly the guitar work of Steve Larson. This is the
group's first album on which he is the sole lead guitarist
and his playing ranging from delicate to powerful shines
throughout. From his days as a sarcastic party boy in The
Refreshments to this album's sensitive citizen of
the world, Clyne's artistic growth has been a beautiful
thing to behold and his stature is now that of a songwriting
giant.
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