“Red Sky Warning” - David Cloyd
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
Buffalo’s indie enigma returns with emotional firepower, a decade wiser and louder than ever.
If there’s one thing Red Sky Warning proves within its first few notes, it’s this: David Cloyd never really left—he just went deeper. After more than ten years of near-silence as a solo artist, the Buffalo-based singer-songwriter, producer, and cult-adored indie figure has re-emerged with a record that doesn’t just pick up where his debut left off—it catapults the whole conversation forward.
Produced with longtime collaborator Blake Morgan (whose resume includes Lenny Kravitz and Lesley Gore), Red Sky Warning is an album that oozes maturity, intention, and a kind of simmering emotional tension that never quite boils over—but keeps your pulse riding just beneath the skin.
Fans of Radiohead, Bon Iver, or Peter Gabriel will feel at home here—but Cloyd’s music isn’t derivative. It's more like someone grew up in the same neighborhood as those artists and then wandered off into the woods to build their own sonic cabin out of analog soul, digital bones, and lyrical lanterns.
The production is crisp, but never sterile. Organic instrumentation swirls with electronic undercurrents, creating a moody, late-night atmosphere that’s part singer-songwriter confessional, part art-rock fever dream.
Standout track “Ocean of Hours” kicks off the record with a whisper that turns into a storm—a fitting metaphor for the entire album.
There’s melancholy, yes, but also a quiet defiance, a refusal to stay buried in the past. Every note feels like a reclaiming.
Cloyd describes Red Sky Warning as “a love story… about music itself,” and honestly? You hear it. This record is less about heartbreak and more about heart work—the long, tender labor of loving something or someone through years of uncertainty.
There’s reflection without pity. Vulnerability without collapse. And always, this sense of awe—not just for music, but for the act of being human enough to feel it all this deeply.
Let’s talk legacy. Cloyd isn’t your typical comeback story. This is a guy who literally built his own computer to record his debut album in a 9x9 Brooklyn apartment (Unhand Me, You Fiend!). That record went #1 on eMusic, landed him in New York Magazine, and placed his songs across MTV and reality TV long before that was the norm for indie artists.
Then he walked away from the solo spotlight. Moved to Buffalo. Started a family. Became a respected producer. Founded a record label imprint. Co-launched the Buffalo Music Club. Helped shape the local scene from the inside out.
And now? He’s come full circle—with sharper tools, deeper wounds, and, somehow, even more to say.
This isn’t just a comeback album. It’s a musical reckoning—with time, with self-doubt, with the myth of the linear career path. It’s also a full-circle moment for a guy who helped define the early wave of DIY internet-era indie, then disappeared into the scene, only to reemerge not as a lost voice—but a wiser one.
Blake Morgan says it best:
“David’s as special a musician as anyone is likely to encounter... I’m proud to have helped bring this record to life. His fans are going to absolutely love it.”
Red Sky Warning is like walking out into the night after a long storm. Everything smells like rain. You’re cold, but awake. And the sky? It’s red—but it’s clearing.
Do yourself a favor—don’t just stream it, sit with it.
You’ll hear a decade in every note.
“Red Sky Warning” is available now on all major streaming platforms
Credit: Photo by Taylor Ballantyne
