Clay Street Unit

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Robert Chavers

The six members of Clay Street Unit and '60s ephemera.

Clay Street Unit

media release: In January, Colorado-based roots band Clay Street Unit released a new single “Drive,” the latest offering from their forthcoming debut album Sin & Squalor, due out February 13 via Leo33. Equal parts road-worn reflection and emotional release, the track explores the longing and helplessness that can come with loving someone from afar. 

Co-written by the sextet’s chief songwriters, lead singer Sam Walker and mandolin player Scottie Bolin, “Drive” opens as a touring musician’s lament, capturing the constant thoughts and longing for the person they’ve left behind.

"Scottie and I sat down one night to write a song, and it just really naturally wrote itself,” says Walker. “We kept coming back to this idea of the road being the biggest obstacle of a relationship and how helpless that feeling can be. The song is about wanting to be with someone and the impulse you might have to just drop everything and drive to them. In the studio, we thought, ‘Why not highlight that urgency by kicking into double time at the end of the song?’ We wanted to really showcase the immediacy of the moment.”

“Drive” further highlights the emotional depth and dynamic range that define Sin & Squalor, a record that balances grit and grace, joy and hardship, sin and salvation. Produced by Chris Pandolfi of Grammy-winning group, The Infamous Stringdusters, the album captures Clay Street Unit at full stride: drawing on folk, rock, country, and Americana traditions while seamlessly merging them into their own sound.

Formed in Denver in 2021, the group’s 2022 debut EP, A Mighty Fine Evening, introduced their genre-blending sound as Clay Street Unit worked tirelessly to galvanize their live performances. The band played around the Denver and Colorado music scenes before hitting the road from coast to coast, which garnered a passionate community of fans who helped spread word about their incendiary live shows.

Clay Street Unit is Sam Walker (lead vocals/guitar), Scottie Bolin (mandolin/vocals), Jack Cline (banjo), Brad Larrison (pedal steel), Brendan Lamb (drums) Jack Kotarba (bass). With band members originating in Montgomery, AL, Charlottesville, VA, Atlanta, GA, Philadelphia, PA, Denver, CO and Washington DC, their diverse backgrounds and influences come together to shape their signature style. A style that is fresh yet timeless and fully realized on Sin & Squalor.