Following on from the sensual Slow Down, Mac playfully flirts with his listeners ‘Gimme slow, but not that slow,’ he murmurs softly, only for us to hear him starting up his van, as he and Innanet James begin their joint feature. Mac’s confidence grows as the album comes towards its midpoint. ‘The Devil’s In The Detail’ exposes the hopeful uncertainty of love, as the glimmering vocals weave seamlessly with the throbbing bassline, in a manner reminiscent of Childish Gambino’s Redbone. Love, Mac is trying to say, is a journey with ecstatic highs and mournful lows. However, this album is not simply thirty minutes of adolescent angst and self-pity at a love scorned. It is this second track, not the first, which sets the themes for the EP love, regret, and the search for peace of mind are recurrent themes throughout. ‘Have I ever told you that I spend my evenings howling to the moon?’, Mac croons to the now minor key piano and skeletal drums. The second track, Calvin’s Joint, immediately sets itself up in opposition to the intro, as familial well-wishing is replaced by lovesickness and a resolve for change.

However, the opening is somewhat misleading.

The warmth of his grandmother’s voice is backed by tinkering, syncopated keys and a slow snare, with the opening few seconds coalescing the innocence of youth and the blissful naivety of old age. For such a relative newcomer, Mac plays on the topic of young love with remarkable sensitivity, both emotional and musical, and expresses his personal plight in a way which resonates with his audience.ĭrive Slow begins with a sample of a phone call from Mac’s grandmother wishing him a happy 20 th birthday. Mac’s sound bridges RnB, soul, hip hop, and jazz into something uniquely his own, and his style lends itself perfectly to the content of the EP. The singer, songwriter, and producer released the EP in August last year to widespread acclaim, and it is easy to see why. And since we cannot change our path, we may as well take Mac’s advice: to enjoy the ride and drive slow.On his debut EP, Drive Slow, New York native Mac Ayres shows an emotional maturity far beyond his years, baring his soul through a journey of love and loss, while showcasing strikingly varied musicianship. This sentiment may well be true but, throughout the album, we find no sense of anger or bitterness simply acceptance that this is a journey we all must go through. Looking for some kind of moral to take away, one might see this as a warning love may take you to soaring heights, but it has the power to take everything away in an instant. Somewhat surprisingly, despite the emotional journey, we end up right back where we started. He unsuccessfully pursues peace of mind in both tracks. The first line we hear from the singer states his reluctance to ‘wake up’ and this regret is repeated in the last verse. He begins the EP repeating the accusation of a previous lover that he had changed but he himself ends the EP trying to change the mind of another. Indeed, a comparison of our first and last impressions of Mac, on Calvin’s Joint and Change Ya Mind respectively, is telling. As we move through the album, we might expect a growing sense of maturation, of learning from mistakes, of a more adult cynicism but such progress isn’t forthcoming.

Bass line for mac ayres easy