Not many performing aliases are as groan-inducing as the one used by Joshua Karpeh. It was seemingly provided by an intern at Chuck D's Punbrokers. Even fewer, however, are as appropriate. As the musician known as Cautious Clay watched his profile rise with "Cold War" -- a song that gained traction on SoundCloud in 2017, played in a 2018 episode of Insecure, and in 2019 was sampled by Taylor Swift for "London Boy" -- he carried on with baking music rather than microwaving it. By the end of 2020, he had a modest discography of EPs and singles, a collaboration with John Mayer, plus songwriting and production in support of contemporaries such as Alina Baraz, AlunaGeorge, and John Legend. Deadpan Love, Karpeh's debut album, arrived four years after he left his nine-to-five to focus on music. It continues his measured progression as a stylist of mellow pop songs with soul that articulate pensive self-awareness and a level of empathy best summarized in "Spinner": "I just wanna spin the truth about the ones I care about/All in the name of sufferin', but I'll see this through." Conversely, that ballad is unique in that Karpeh's voice is out in front, further emphasized by reverb, accompanied only by intertwined piano lines in the distance. Most of the remainder is so casual, pleasant, and layered that it can be easy to miss the wariness, longing, mixed emotions, and unresolved conflict Karpeh expresses with his tender, pacifying voice. He's actually at his best when there's a bit of swagger in his step. On "Karma & Friends," laced with hints of classic Philly soul and percussion that knocks like OutKast's "Elevators (Me & You)," he doesn't have to raise his voice to make "You can't even expense my love" sting. While not one thought is exaggerated for effect, "deadpan" undersells the LP as a whole. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

1		High Risk Travel
2		Shook
3		Karma & Friends
4		Strange Love
5		Box of Bones
6		Agreeable
7		Dying in the Subtlety
8		Why Is Your Clay So Cautious?
9		Artificial Irrelevance
10		Whoa
11		Wildfire
12		Spinner
13		Roots
14		Bump Stock