Chris Clark

“Every now and again, you come across a new artist who sounds like they should have a 20-album discography already. West River Valley singer-songwriter Chris Clark is just such a dude. It seems almost inconceivable that Across a Carnival, released in August, is the first record from Clark. From the world-weariness of the Americana foot-stomper “I’m Trying” to the gorgeous, minor-key folk instrumental “Behind the Screen Door” to the deceptively simple country grandeur of “There You Are,” the songs feel like they’ve existed for decades. Some of that worn-in quality is due to the production; Hungrytown’s Ken Anderson produced the record, and it sounds suitably covered in dust, with Clark’s deep, at times gravelly voice riding easy atop simple yet evocative arrangements. But it’s Clark’s effortlessly authentic songwriting that gives the record its real power. When he’s in full troubadour mode, as on the road-worthy “Never Look Back,” Clark’s music becomes a story you have to finish.” - Chris Farnsworth

“★★★★★
On his inaugural album Chris Clark crosses stylistic frontiers time after time, unexpectedly so—there’s even the suspicion the singer from Jamaica, Vermont manages to surprise himself with the fruit of his toils and troubles.… The fiddle-flaunting ‘I’m Trying’ conceals a smile to better express the writer’s honesty. The titular ballad breaks the mold, however, to offer nightmarish imagery and then offset the gloom through Clark’s deadpan delivery and a glimmering arrangement.… The gorgeous ‘Wicked Soul’ whips up a fresh nocturnal romance to bring the album to a close, and the unpretentious ‘Other Side Of Lonely’ dances on a crepuscular air.… Not in for fame or fortune, Chris Clark has arrived to stay.”

“Rooted in the country sounds of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Across a Carnival is loaded with songs of back roads, small towns, old mistakes, chance meetings and the restless pull of the horizon. The title track is a slower, moodier psychedelic Americana desert-country gothic dreamscape wandering through memory, longing and imagination. Elsewhere, Clark returns to restless drifters, departures, goodbyes, lost chances and the self-destructive fools found on the other side of lonely. If, as The Band said, life is a travelling carnival, then you really need to buy a ticket to Clark’s outstanding debut while it’s in town.” - Mike Davies

“The twelve tracks on the magnificent Across a Carnival are varied, with harmonies rich in inspiration and variation. Filled with harmonica and Moog, the album features Rebecca Hall on backing vocals and Lissa Schneckenburger on violin. The beautiful, evocative lyrics draw you in and invite you to travel through Chris Clark’s world. Listening, you cross arid plains, gallop at full speed among the cacti, dance with cowboys and sing with gold prospectors. Chris Clark delivers a sublime and addictive Across a Carnival, with brilliant arrangements and radiant songs — one of Piggledypop’s best productions of 2026.” - Marie-Agnes Hallé

“Across a Carnival is a 12-song collection populated by travelers, missed opportunities, old relationships and people who never seem entirely certain whether they are leaving or coming home. The record draws from Americana and folk-rock while allowing psychedelic folk, vintage pop and early-1970s rock textures into its arrangements. Yet the most consistent thread is geographical rather than stylistic: roads keep appearing between Clark’s characters and the places where they belong. That same emotional geography stretches across ‘Never Look Back,’ ‘Other Side of Lonely,’ ‘Broken Down Car’ and the title track. Together they suggest an album interested in what happens after departures — when the open road has accumulated enough history to contain regrets of its own. The emphasis remains on characters and places: people briefly crossing one another’s paths, towns becoming unfamiliar, and memories refusing to stay exactly where they were left. That may be the defining idea of Across a Carnival. Clark writes from a deeply rooted place about people who cannot stop moving.”

“To me, this goes hard for alternative country to my ears, and we haven’t heard the like since we were knee-deep in New York and Austin music conferences and Bloodshot Records showcases. I was honestly surprised this whole album is that good.”