Mac Ayres’ latest single “Calvin’s Joint” is the brooding, funkadelic cousin to his February release “Easy.” The up-and-coming New York artist is reminiscent of James Blake with his piano, hard beats, and vocal runs, but he brings in a heavy influence of American R&B and a hint of modern Vaporwave.
Like “Easy,” this song starts off simple with reverb-filled chords on vibraphone before seamlessly adding piano, the beat, and Ayres’ tender tenor voice. He layers a choir of his flawless falsetto vocals behind the track creating a call and response between his own voice which adds to the sublime longing quality to the song. The groove really hits once the chorus starts, and neither sleep depravity nor despondency will stop you from bopping your head along.
In the outro Ayres adds some fat walking bass lines which are a nice contrast to the simple bass of the beginning of the song. Four-part harmony voices repeat “lord knows I’ve been trying.” It’s a moody chant of utter exhaustion. The listener can tell Ayres is torn because he does not see the point in trying with whatever girl he is singing about, but will be heartbroken when he inevitably stops trying.
“Calvin’s Joint” is a song you might enjoy when smoking a joint with your friend Calvin (if you have one), trying to get over your recent crush, or just when you want to try out some angsty dance moves.
Ayres’ Instagram has hinted at a full EP coming out soon, so watch out for it. If it is anything like his two debut singles, then expect more expertly done moody, modern, soulful music.
Check out the single on Spotify below!
