Cautious Clay to Release New Album 'The Hours: Morning'; Shares New Single

Singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Karpeh aka Cautious Clay will release his new album, The Hours: Morning on May 16th via Concord Records. Accompanying the news, Cautious has shared his new single, “Tokyo Lift (5am),” following last month’s “No Champagne (6am).”

“Tokyo Lift (5am)” welcomes listeners to a gentle morning after a night of escapades. Drenched in groove and reverbed vocals, Cautious’ lyrics beckons attention to the present moment and yearns for unscripted intimacy and authenticity between friends or lovers. The track’s lush production and soaring vocals preview Cautious’  brand new sonic horizon that is The Hours: Morning.

Speaking on the new song, Cautious shares, “‘Tokyo Lift (5am)’” is a song I wrote about a time I spent out at a karaoke bar until 5 AM. Karaoke for me is super hit or miss because it is completely dependent upon everyone leaning into their performances and people picking good songs. This particular night was perfect; the music was perfect, the drinks were flowing, and everyone was completely losing track of time. The energy and sonics of this song is something I really wanted to match the feeling of one of those nights.”

It’s a brand new day for Cautious Clay, and he’s taking it head-on with The Hours: Morning, a conceptual endeavor that’s equal parts mixtape and emotive timetable. After moving to Philadelphia following the release of his last album — the jazzy and autobiographical KARPEH — time spent in Brooklyn, the city where Cautious Clay bloomed into the artist he is today, became much more precious, and ritual became a necessity. Pushing the limits of a freeform existence that once felt natural, Cautious began to build a schedule that prioritized time outside of the studio in which he’s spent most of the past decade. The new confines provided the infrastructure for focused creativity, and soon enough, he had netted over 60 songs over a year. 

Of this batch, the eight that appear on The Hours: Morning were selected on the basis of which Cautious associates with each waking hour. This album interprets daybreak as something more conversational than intensely personal. Armed with a certain pop precision that he’s honed over the past decade, it’s a project that further illuminates Cautious as an artist whose strength lies in his dexterity.

Touching on the album, he shares, “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. 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. 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.”

Since emerging in 2017, Cautious Clay has crafted a unique sound that defies boundaries, seamlessly blending pop, alternative R&B, jazz, and indie rock with deeply introspective songwriting. His breakthrough came with 2018’s Blood Type and the standout track “Cold War”, a raw and resonant call for emotional honesty that has since garnered over 150M streams. The song’s reach extended far beyond music, landing in Issa Rae’s HBO hit Insecure, Olivia Wilde’s movie Booksmart, and was reimagined by Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff on Lover’s “London Boy”.

Beyond his own artistry, Cautious has established himself as a highly sought-after songwriter and producer, collaborating with Billie Eilish, John Mayer, John Legend, Khalid, Kavinsky, Melanie Martinez, Remi Wolf, and most recently, Tycho. Following the release of his acclaimed EPs Resonance and Table of Context, he delivered his full-length 2021 debut Deadpan Love, a nuanced exploration of the complexities of human connection that earned him praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Fader, PAPER, and more. With his 2023 album KARPEH, Cautious reached new artistic heights, delivering a more intentional and sonically rich project. This bold evolution offered an intimate portrayal of his journey, his past, and his family life, solidifying his place as a singular voice in modern music and one to watch.

Photo credit: Travys Owen