Clay Street Unit Seeks to Define the &x27;Good, the Bad and the Ugly&x27; Through Debut Album "Sin & Squalor" (Exclusive) Chris BarillaThu, February 19, 2026 at 11:35 PM UTC 0 Clay Street Unit Robert Chavers Clay Street Unit frontman Sam Walker tells PEOPLE that the group's debut record, Sin & Squalor, was created with the intention of being "as honest and vulnerable as we could" "Everyone in the band has such a unique flavor that meshes so well that it doesn't feel like we're pulling at each other creatively for who has that influence.
Clay Street Unit Seeks to Define the 'Good, the Bad and the Ugly' Through Debut Album "Sin & Squalor" (Exclusive)
Chris BarillaThu, February 19, 2026 at 11:35 PM UTC
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Clay Street Unit
Robert Chavers
Clay Street Unit frontman Sam Walker tells PEOPLE that the group's debut record, Sin & Squalor, was created with the intention of being "as honest and vulnerable as we could"
"Everyone in the band has such a unique flavor that meshes so well that it doesn't feel like we're pulling at each other creatively for who has that influence. It all just melts together into a song for us," he says of their synergy
"Leaning into that uncomfortable side of things, the vulnerable side of things is really what makes us comfortable," Walker shares of the group's writing style
Clay Street Unit is currently riding a high that no perfectly executed bluegrass lick could ever compare to.
In conversation following the release of their debut album, Sin & Squalor, and a riotous performance at Nashville's The Basement East to celebrate the project hitting streaming, the group's frontman, Sam Walker, tells PEOPLE that, at its core, "we really tried to be as honest and vulnerable as we could on this record."
The honesty and vulnerability come as a natural byproduct of the Colorado-based outfit's synergy, having first come together in 2021 and since going on to bring their unique blend of bluegrass, country, folk, psychedelia and general roots music to legendary stages from Red Rocks Amphitheater to Nashville's Grand Ole Opry.
"This record was a big step of growing up," Walker reflects of the group, whose only previous body of work is their career-launching EP A Mighty Fine Evening, which helped the pickers secure early momentum in the jam band scene and beyond. "What we really wanted to do was just articulate the good, the bad, and the ugly, just the reality of where we were in that stage in our lives," he continues.
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The group, comprised of Walker (lead vocals/guitar), Scottie Bolin (mandolin/vocals), Jack Cline (banjo), Brad Larrison (pedal steel), Brendan Lamb (drums), Jack Kotarba (bass), as well as new touring member Dan Andree (fiddle), merges unique regional influences ranging from the Rocky Mountains to the Deep South.
"Everyone in the band has such a unique flavor that meshes so well that it doesn't feel like we're pulling at each other creatively for who has that influence. It all just melts together into a song for us," he says of their synergy, both live and on the record.
Speaking to the overarching themes of the album, Walker elaborates, "It just kind of leans into the notion that life's complex and everything isn't as straightforward and linear as it might seem. There's beauty in sin, there's beauty in squalor. As much as those terms may have a negative connotation surrounding them, they're learning experiences."
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Clay Street Unit
Robert Chavers
A sonic chronicle of the singer's "mid twenties to late twenties," Sin & Squalor spans 11 songs over a concise 39 minutes. "The biggest thing that I look for in an artist that I want to listen to and that I want to latch onto their music is believability," he says. "If I believe that they mean what they're saying and experience, and whether it's the way they write it or they sing it or they play it for us ... I don't think there's any other way we know how to do it at this point."
And if there's a core message to Clay Street Unit's story up until this point, it's centered on that common thread of believability married with relatability. Having gone from a local group who drove "1600 miles in my Tiguan at the time, packed to the brim with stuff and gear coming out the windows" just to play their first show outside of Colorado, to most recently wowing the crowd at the Grand Ole Opry, is quite a range of experience for a group less than a half a decade old.
Because of those life experiences, however, a clear push and pull is present across their debut offering — joy and hardship, redemption and regret, that exists as a byproduct of Walker's firm vision for his group's present and future.
"I wouldn't want to sit there and write songs about drinking beer and staying up all night ... classic country songs may be a little bit more geared toward love ... It's just not the way we write and we operate. And so leaning into that uncomfortable side of things, the vulnerable side of things is really what makes us comfortable because we know it's true. And honesty coming from a place of sincerity," he shares.
Ultimately, the group's unique blend of genre bases, informed by artists ranging from The Infamous Stringdusters to the Grateful Dead, has led Walker to the realization that all he hopes to project through Clay Street Unit's music is a sense of individuality that exudes onto its listener base.
"I think more than anything, just be comfortable with who you are and live your life on your own terms. It's too short not to," he concludes. "With our album, that's exactly what we did. We didn't say, 'We're writing 11 country songs ... 11 folk songs ... 11 bluegrass songs. We wrote 11 songs, and that's the way they came out ... and we believe in them."
Sin & Squalor is available on all major streaming services now.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 19, 2026 at 06:45PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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