Stephen Clair
Transmissions
(Rock City Records)
Beacon-based pop rocker Stephen Clair is impatient and ready to party on “Waiting Around,” which urgently opens Transmissions. Drummer Aaron Latos lays down a tight beat on “Vegas Sunrise,” which also features strong synth by producer Will Bryant. Clair reveals his influences by referencing Lou Reed’s “Coney Island Baby” on “Blue and Red Lines.” Piano meanders dreamily on “It’s So Strange” until the beat picks back up again. Daria Grace’s Pixies-esque bass drives “Naomi’s Phone is Dead,” which warns of missing your train stop due to dead batteries after going out in the city. Love overcomes bad teeth and self-imposed maladies on “Take This Walk with Me.” While Clair’s deadpan delivery largely recalls Reed’s, his sense of melody and humor is more Costello-meets-Kinks. The band plays extremely well together throughout Transmissions‘s nine tracks and establishes a solid base for Clair’s humorous and heartfelt songwriting.
This article appears in February 2025.
