Cautious Clay’s dreamy R&B-pop album is an exploration in time

“The Hours: Morning” by Cautious Clay (Concord Records)

Cautious Clay, the multi-instrumentalist whose dreamy R&B and indie-pop sound has earned him the attention of everyone from Arooj Aftab and John Mayer to Taylor Swift, embraces the passing of time on his latest EP, “The Hours: Morning.”

Across eight tracks each representing an hour from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m., Clay documents the clarity, optimism and sometimes sinking reality of the start of each day through soulful, funk-pop beats.

“The Hours: Morning” follows Clay’s 2023 biographical album “Karpeh” (titled after his given name, Joshua Karpeh) and joins a discography that shows his instrumental and vocal prowess. Clay’s moody, breakout track, 2017’s “Cold War,” was interpolated by Swift on “London Boy” for her 2019 record “Lover, ” shortly after it featured in a scene in Olivia Wilde’s coming-of-age comedy “Booksmart.” His 2021 song “Wildfire” accumulated tens of millions of streams on its own before being covered by Rosé of the mega-popular K-pop girl group Blackpink.

It’s a simple idea, framing songs around eight morning hours, but the structure of “The Hours: Morning” allows for complex sonic exploration. Clay tasked himself with producing a distinct sound for each, emulating a specific mentality associated with the hour.

The smooth R&B opener “Tokyo Lift (5 am)” embraces early morning limbo, in his case, the afterglow of late-night karaoke. Unburdened by the realities of the day — “You’re in denial / But I’m not talking ’bout a river,” Clay sings in a raspy, whispered tone — the mood is light, the production mellow and synth-heavy. A flute solo adds brightness to the final verse, like a bird’s call meeting the morning sun.

“Traffic (7 am)” starts with a string of relationship reflections. “Every morning felt like traffic / Brain full of static,” he begins, eventually arriving at a sensual chorus of overlapping vocals. “It’s like poetry,” Clay sings, “I felt the hair on my skin / Raising when you crashed in / To me.” The song is capped by Clay’s crisp saxophone.

Bass guitar adds funk to “Amber (11 am).” And by “Smoke Break (12 pm),” the EP’s closer, Clay’s voice is more pronounced. The drumbeats behind them, quicker.

Clay isn’t restricted by his hourly concept. Each song is engaging enough to exist outside of its designated time block, free of its parenthetical label. But together, Clay creates a colorful world — a morning listeners will want to wake up early for. ELISE RYAN, MDT/AP