Studio 52 Spotlight: Year of the Clam
What Studio 52 Says: Born in a Boston basement, soul n’ roll trio Year Of The Clam blend gritty Allston indie rock with aspects of traditional soul to create something utterly unique in flavor, with all the fuzz and doo-wop your heart desires. Spirited drums lock in with beautifully melodic bass lines and leave the rest up to guitarist and vocalist Sean James, who’s outlandish character, outspoken love for Narragansett Beer, and drive to #keephighfivesalive often make him a focal point of their live shows.
Even SJ’s larger-than-life personality can’t steal all the spotlight away from lefty bassist Ingrid Jin, who throws down a story of harmony on vocals in every song, bringing a cleaner and more polished vocal sound to the mix. The excellent contrast between their voices only further enhances and builds upon their instrumental foundation of clean soul and gritty rock.
June saw the release of their debut album Precious Pearls, a nine-song accurate personification of Year Of The Clam: From ethereal mood setters to songs about daily life and love, with a four-minute pit stop at a strange jam in 5/8 time, and finally leaving off with some uptempo party sing (or yell) alongs.
Year Of The Clam took a record of genuinely unique and well written songs, decided it needed something, and sprinkled hilarious samples throughout it like salt bae. With healthy portions of soul/rock inspo, witty old beer commercials, and laughter from everyone’s favorite underwater sponge, Precious Pearls is nautical by nature: A perfect encapsulation of their live shows and of the Year of the Clam vibe as a whole. On the heels of unleashing the LP upon the world, Year of the Clam has been gigging all over the Northeast; and they hit the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain this Tuesday (August 27) alongside Otter River and Dewey.
— Trevor McSweeney, Studio 52
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Listen: Year of the Clam on Spotify —
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Watch: Year of the Clam on YouTube —
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Follow: Year of the Clam on Instagram —
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