It’s a brand new day for Cautious Clay, and he’s taking it head on. The singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist also known as Joshua Karpeh hits a galvanizing stride that unfolds hour-by-hour on his newest project, 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 project it is today, became much more precious and ritual became a necessity. Pushing the limits of a freeform existence that once felt natural, Karpeh 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 infrastructure for focused creativity, and soon enough, he had netted over 60 songs over the course of a year.

Of this batch, the eight that appear on The Hours: Morning were selected on the basis of which Karpeh associates with each waking hour. Lead single “No Champagne” radiates with the warmth of sunrise beaming through the window, casting light on hard truths in a relationship: “Whether it’s morning or night, I see the waves taking their shape when your skin hits the light, I get a feeling I can’t shake” he emotes on the song. “It was keeping me awake till six in the morning.” Vacillating from bleary-eyed to bombastic, The Hours: Morning 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 Karpeh as an artist whose strength lies in his dexterity.