Down in the U.S. Southwest, particularly in Arizona, people love music called chicken scratch -- named for the way its dancers moved. It's a curious Native American style drawn from Mexican norteño, the polka played by German immigrants, country music, and the rock & roll heard on the radio. That's what Pima Express plays. They're the no-frills, basic kind of band you'd hear in an Arizona bar any Saturday night churning out an appealing mix of covers and originals, anything from "Take These Chains" to the unlikely "Never on a Sunday." They mix up the instrumentals, like their own "Nothing Special" or the twangy "Guitar Roulette," with some fairly rudimentary vocal work on "Lonesome Cowboy," and even take on other dance styles from the border country in "Cumbia With Me" and "Aji Two Step." In some ways, their very roots music isn't a million miles from Los Lobos, although they're nowhere near as accomplished. But if you want to know what they go out and do the chicken scratch to in southern Arizona, this will give you the perfect idea. ~ Chris Nickson