Cautious Clay Shares New Album ‘The Hours: Morning’

Rise and shine, Cautious Clay has delivered his new album, The Hours: Morning, via Concord Records. 

The eight-track project takes place between the hours of 5 a.m. and noon, with Clay taking listeners on a genre-spanning journey full of reflections.

“Every hour of the day has a distinct feeling to me. With this eight-song project, I wanted to reflect on what the morning feels like to me, so I made what felt like 8 discrete hours of the day,” explains Clay. “Some of the hours feel calm, and some of the hours have more energy, but I wanted them to play off of each other based on different experiences I’ve had during those times of day.”

He adds, “The particular color of amber used for the album artwork also felt like it encapsulates both the calm early morning and the energy/warmth of the rising sun.”

Opening with “Tokyo Lift (5am),” Clay reminisces about an unforgettable night at a karaoke bar. “This particular night was perfect; the music was perfect, the drinks were flowing, and everyone was completely losing track of time,” says Clay. “The energy and sonics of this song is something I really wanted to match the feeling of one of those nights.”

The caffeinated production on “The Plot (8am)” provides a much-needed jolt before crashing into the chaos of a confusing love on “Promises (9am).” He sings, “There’s something about my past that you like / But opportunities come with lies / So I gave it to you straight in the moment / But I can tell that you don’t make promises / But I can’t let you go.”

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Clay clocks out with “Smoke Break (12pm),” where he sings of a fleeting love: “Mornings full of chain lines / We’re better when you talk to me / We taking thirty minutes in stride / But you just want to call it a smoke break.”

“Smoke Break” also serves as an ideal stopping point, giving listeners space to absorb everything that unfolded in Morning. 

Morning follows KARPEH, Clay’s jazz-infused project that was released in 2023. The title shares the last name of the singer, who was born Joshua Karpeh. The 15-track set included the singles “Ohio” and “Another Half.” 

Before that, Clay released his debut album, Deadpan Love, in 2021. He explained, “Deadpan Love explores the ways I cope with the worst of what humanity has to offer. It’s about opposites—having an outer layer that’s tougher, this ‘deadpan’ state, and an inner layer of compassion, where you’re open to being there for the people you care about.”

Clay will support his latest album on The Hours Tour, which kicks off Sept. 30 at The Sinclair in Boston. From there, he will visit New York, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Los Angeles, London and more, before concluding Dec. 11 in Brussels. 

Stream Cautious Clay’s new album The Hours: Morning and check out his tour dates below. 

Cautious Clay’s The Hours Tour Dates

Sep 30 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Oct 2 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Oct 4 – Washington, DC @ Atlantis
Oct 7 – Toronto, ON @ Axis
Oct 10 – Chicago, IL @ Outset
Oct 11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
Oct 13 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird
Oct 15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell
Oct 17 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
Oct 18 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood
Oct 19 – Portland, OR @ Roseland
Oct 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s
Oct 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent
Dec 4 – Manchester, UK @ Blues Kitchen
Dec 5 – London, UK @ Jazz Cafe
Dec 9 – Amsterdam, NL @ Tolhuistuin (Paradiso Noord)
Dec 10 – Rotterdam, NL @ LantarenVenster
Dec 11 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique – The Rotonde

Get tickets at cautiousclay.com.