The new release from Long Island-born R&B singer Mac Ayres, cloudy, is a compilation of tracks that he released on SoundCloud during 2016 to 2019. These tracks were born in the “ChilledCow” era, when the lo-fi genre was on the rise and night owls across the country were falling asleep to an anime girl doing homework with binaural, stripped-back beats in the background. Lo-fi is historically a constrained, isolated type of music—meant to be enjoyed in a bedroom, alone, or at a desk, studying—but clouds is big-picture and atmospheric, as Ayres breathes life into alleviated rhythms, crafting graceful portraits of intimacy, loneliness and longing out of jazzy-undertoned pop. 

The follow-up album to the groovy Comfortable Enough (2023), cloudy spans across 15 tracks from Ayres’ vast personal archive. He forecasts his curated range thoroughly, as he slows it down for introspection for one moment and picks up speed on the next for a catchy, tender love-pop song. The music is intentional and layered—not just something generated for the algorithm—and on tracks like “somebody new” you hear every lip smack and breath, as Ayres’ resounding vocals capture the warm atmosphere as it envelops his world. His voice is smooth and lax yet striking and eloquent as he talks of missed opportunities, love lost and what awaits him if he just takes the jump. “Maybe it’s all good / know that I shouldn’t have stayed,” he croons, yearning through the mystique of the unknown.

Ayres is sweet, but cloudy unveils a sensual side as well. “callin my name” is snappy and fun, with a strong 80s funk backbone and glimmers of modern-day R&B. He adopts a bit of a pop star swagger—think Timberlake—as he serves through the track that echoes a fiery city night out. “Movin my own way, tell me what do I see?” he challenges, establishing a smooth flow. As the album develops he gets more into this motion; perhaps it was chronologically and we are witnessing his development as an artist in real time. “so much closer” is a track where his desire for extended intimacy unravels, intensifying as he moans “so much closer baby,” over and over. There’s a sense of frustration that comes with this longing—wanting a tangible love that is in reach, something that seems unattainable. 

cloudy is a collection of the life experiences that shaped Ayres, and loneliness—and what it means to be alone—is one that rears its head throughout. “she won’t stay long” is majestically wavy, but a sorrow warbles throughout as Ayres recognizes the inevitable end of this affair. “She won’t stay long, but I’ve been waiting for the longest,” he murmurs softly, finding peace and beauty in the chase of it all. He misses love, and misses home as well, as seen on “we moved to LA for a month” where he makes promises to return to the East Coast soon. The songs of cloudy graciously build off of each other, through sprinkling beats, fuzzy synths and subdued bass tones, as Ayres exerts patience and prosperity as he finds his way back home. 

“Can you go slow, just a little slower for me?” he pleads on the last track “blue skies,” a charming ending where his optimism shines through. cloudy is an expansive collection of these slow-building moments, where it’s easy to be enveloped by the serene comfort Ayres exudes. At times, the piano melodies start to drone and falter, but his soulful hums and belts resonate—and fill in these gaps. After all of the stormy days and bouts of loneliness he’s faced, he’s still waiting on those “blue skies, baby,” and looks unapologetically, vehemently ahead—“Forever’s got a hold on me.”

Listen to cloudy by Mac Ayres below: