Vicious Clay – Bleecker Street Revisited
There’s something visceral about the music that comes from Vinny Silva – colloquially known as Vicious Clay. The multi-instrumentalist plays all the instruments on the album: drums, bass, guitars, vocals, and percussion, and it’s palpable – the music here is raw and emotional… Truly an artist’s singular vision. Over the course of 10 songs, Silva explores sneering rock ‘n roll sounds, dipping into garage tones; retro rock swagger; and bluesy emotions.
“Dark” is a fitting way to start the album – reminiscent of Stone Temple Pilot’s “Vasoline,” the song begins with a cacophony of swelling sounds before Silva rips a crushing line – “Feels so hopeless in the dark.” The groovy, guitar riffing here feels spindly and spidery, whipping and winding around your eardrums with nimble virtuosity, pairing raw chords with strong, start/stop rhythmic play. “Dark” is a fitting way to start the album, but it is certainly the album’s gloomiest place… It doesn’t stay there for long, as Silva launches into the retro rock grime of “Gimme What I Need” – here, Silva’s guitar settles into a rollicking groove, punctuated by plinking piano chords… Think equal parts George Thorogood, Kiss, and Van Halen.
Elsewhere, Silva flirts with the blues – “Relapse” might be the most emotionally captivating guitar work on the album (and gets our nod for album favorite). Silva’s guitar work is crisp and chimey over lyrics that touch on despair – “She’s walking out the door / I’m broken to the core / Grey-haired and despaired / confessed all my sins / my time is wearing thin.” Brutal. If this super tight guitar sound is what you’re hunting for, give “Sand Lake” a spin too. On top of its delightfully springy guitar tones, the mood here is uplifting and light in an album that is mostly full of heady rock ‘n roll.
Silva’s bread and butter, though, is balls-to-the-wall rock. “Time’s Up” shows off Silva’s incredible fretwork and will surely appeal to all the shredders out there. “Mine All Mine” might fool you at first with it’s digestible first half – stick around for the raucous slide-guitar-laden solo around the 2:45 mark… Warning you now, it’s tasty. Silva keeps this energy flowing all the way through the end of the album. Best-of-all-worlds offering “10 Thousand Years Gone” bridges the gap between all of Silva’s songwriting talents, while album closer “If I Had To Say I Told You So” delves into uplifting, Tom Petty territories.
This album is a wild ride, but Silva’s work is startlingly cohesive. It makes for a varied and attention-keeping listen that feels timeless despite harkening back to rock’s storied roots. Bleecker Street Revisited is available now (November 7th, 2025). Here’s the Spotify link.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna