REVIEWS

Stephen Clair YouTube Channel

“Stephen Clair’s Strange Perfume is a perfect homage to 1970s garage rock. Think in terms of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers or if David Bowie had gotten a crack at producing The Velvet Underground. The major thing separating Clair from those artists, and artists like them is the joy within his music. While there’s emotional complexity and variety across the album, Clair and his band, in general, sound happy and excited to be bringing his ten songs to life and that excitement is transmitted to the listener."
- Steve Ovadia/Glide Magazine (Oct 11 2019) (read the whole thing)

"Clair is dropping a potent album that reminds us what rock and roll is about. Strange Perfume is darkly joyous, raving, sneering, lusty and thrilling."
— The Big Takeover (read more)

"Some of the best rock 'n' roll music you'll hear this year. Raw and in-your-face, Strange Perfume reminds us all of the visceral power of rock ‘n’ roll, without pretence or artifice."
— Power of Pop (read more)

“Blending the kind of jaggedly cool guitar and piano that put Spoon on the map with a deadpan, almost spoken-word vocal delivery, the song quickly evolves into a righteous bar band anthem that feels as much linked to acts like the Hold Steady as it does to Wilco”
— Glide Magazine (read more)

"infused with plenty of electric energy. And fortunately for all of us, the guitars are turned up loud in the mix. Clair's songs remind us of classic pop artists from the 1970s and 1980s like The Kinks, The Cars, and Elvis Costello."
— Baby Sue Comix (read more)

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Review History

> Times Union
> Daily Gazette
> WKZE
> WEXT

PERFORMING SONGWRITER
In a lot of ways, Stephen Clair is the kind of citified troubadour that the roots songwriting world needs these days - a writer who can celebrate his influences without trying to be them. He shares James McMurtry's poetic gift for plain but literate lyrics, a certain tongue-in-cheekiness with Townes Van Zandt and the ability to spin a yarn like Greg Brown. But there's also a bit of the bohemian to him, a bit of the old NYC that Clair thankfully doesn't hide under the pretend cowpoke jargon that many of his contemporaries do. Instead, he allows the noise and the gray of New York to seep into the sun-drenched hominess of his songs. He comes out of the gate strong on Under The Bed with the opener "Gone Ten Years," an ode to a grandfather that brings a stutter to the heart of even the crustiest music critic. Throughout, Clair proves himself a strong and witty lyricist, and his startling vocal similarity to James McMurtry gives his phrasing a wryness that allows even the starkest of phrases a bit of perspective and light. —Clay Steakley

CONNECT SAVANNAH
With a laconic drawl that’s part concrete sidewalk and part muddy road, this observationalist singer/songwriter is positively Fourth Street.

Though many critics are quick to tag his dry, streetwise vocal delivery and chugging electric guitarwork as the hallmarks of a Lou Reed or Tom Verlaine acolyte, there's a definite rural whine that shines through in both his voice and his lyric sense that suggests an American Lloyd Cole or a less mannered Dan Bern.

When pressed, he calls himself “an urban roots troubadour.”

His second CD, Little Radio, was voted one of the Top 50 releases of 2003 by NYC’s WFUV-FM, alongside offerings by Patty Griffin, John Mayer, Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch – and it was the only indie CD that made the list.

His material ranges from wryly humorous slices-of-life to dreamy meditations that come close to alt.country but never quite shoe the horse.

Clair has opened for an impressive list of already-theres, including Vic Chesnutt, James McMurtry, Richard Buckner, Livingston Taylor, Yo La Tengo and even The Flaming Lips.  — Jim Reed, Connect Savannah

PUSHING BACK WITH Stephen Clair

NO DEPRESSION
by Lee Zimmerman
February 7, 2018

The term troubadour is bandied about quite a bit these days, used to define anyone from a heartland hero to those on an endless quest. However in the case of Stephen Clair, the description couldn’t be any more fitting. Devoted to the pursuit of music since early childhood, he later left his hometown in upstate New York to follow his muse to the typical roosting spots -- Austin, San Francisco, New Orleans,New York City and even as far afield as the south of France. He honed his craft along the way, absorbing the trademark sounds of each place he adopted, creating a fertile mix of punk, rock, jazz, blues and soul in the process. Eventually he returned home, where he founded a musical boot camp and not only helped to groom the musicians but also gave them practical experience by recruiting him for his new album, one which trumpets the band in both name and execution.

Although it boasts only eight tracks in all, Stephen Clair and the Pushbacks offers enough diversity to satisfy several sets of songs. Clair’s staggering vocals are frequently compared to Ray Davies, but mostly it’s the shifting rhythms -- the swampy sound of “My Crime” which leads things off at a plodding pace, the drive and determination of “I Found You,” the woozy swagger of the aptly titled “Typing Tipsy” -- that make the initial impression. Clair’s elf-effacing attitude also comes to the fore, and when he succumbs to resignation in the loping “Kill Me,” it provides a sardonic send-off that concludes the album on an even edgier note.

Ultimately what emerges is an artist with a singular style and the confidence to conceive it. Consider this a case of Pushbacks with pull forward.

"A fearless performer" —San Antonio Express

“Clair is laid-back - yet very New York, proving that's possible.”—Village Voice

“Stephen Clair and the Pushbacks have literary, story-telling songs like Chuck Prophet, with a range of feeling from Steve Forbert to Alejandro Escovedo.”
—Nan Warshaw, Bloodshot Records

“For fans of literate singer/songwriters who balance the weight of the world with a bit of humor, Clair ... should fit the bill.”—All Music Guide