Everything began in Denver, Colorado, where Clay Street Unit formed in 2021. Many of the band’s members — mandolinist Scottie Bolin, banjo player Jack Cline, pedal steel guitarist Brad Larrison, drummer Brendan Lamb, and singer/guitarist/ringleader Sam Walker — had grown up elsewhere, spending their teenage years in cities like Atlanta, Charlottesville and Montgomery. Coming together in Colorado where they added bassist Jack Kotarba, they mixed the southern soundtrack of their youths with the raw, rugged spirit of the West. After building an audience at local venues like Cervantes, the guys hit the road, where the very thing that once made their music so difficult to categorize — the sheer diversity of their sound — became one of their calling cards.

“We played bluegrass events, folk festivals, and country venues,” Walker says of those early shows, which the bandmates often booked themselves. “We were able to share our music with so many different demographics and dip our toes into different pools, and what we realized is, it’s all pretty similar. Our music seemed to meet everyone in the middle.”

Between their cross-country tours, Clay Street Unit found time to head back home to Denver, where they recorded Sin & Squalor with producer (and co-founder of the Grammy-winning Infamous Stringdusters) Chris Pandolfi. Harnessing the electricity of the band’s live show felt like a natural goal, but the guys pushed for something deeper too, showcasing the songwriting chops that had evolved since the release of their introductory EP, A Mighty Fine Evening, in 2022. “We recorded A Mighty Fine Evening in three hours on a Wednesday night, with a case of beer,” Walker remembers. “It was a great representation of who we were at the time, but we wanted to capture something deeper and emotionally vulnerable with this album. Sin & Squalor grapples with some heavier concepts, and we tried to do so in a relatable way.”

Heavier concepts can’t weigh down Clay Street Unit, though. The guys are still throwing a party. With its call-and-response chorus and dazzling mandolin riffs, “Where Have You Gone” is a roots-steeped anthem, shot through with fire-powered fretwork and heartland hooks. Similarly, “Drive” begins with an aching lament, as the lyrics capture the racing thoughts of a traveler who misses the loved ones he’s left behind, only to slam into an energetic fifth gear during its final stretch. “That song is about wanting to be with someone,” Walker explains, “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 showcase the immediacy of the moment.”

Sin & Squalor showcases more than the string-band stomp and eclectic enthusiasm of a must-see live act, though. It also highlights Walker’s ability to turn everyday stories into something cinematic. On “Let’s Get Stoned,” he paints the picture of two lovers taking stock of life’s simple pleasures. The rent is high and their apartment is cold, but they’ve still got each other, as well as some weed and bottom-shelf whiskey. The song is a countrified celebration of the things that keep us aloft, and Walker sings it with a voice like broken-in leather, supple one minute and sturdy the next.

Call it folk-country. Call it western Americana. Call it Rocky Mountain Newgrass with southern soul. Clay Street Unit aren’t concerned about the various definitions; they’re just happy that more and more people are listening. With Sin & Squalor, they stake their claim as torchbearers of something both fresh and familiar, nodding to the traditions of American roots music while sharpening their own modern edge.