Our March Artist of the Month, serpentwithfeet has today unleashed his stellar sophomore album, DEACON. Stream the 11-track effort below via Apple Music and Spotify, and read our review here.
Serving as the direct follow-up to 2020’s Apparition EP, DEACON marks serpentwithfeet’s first full-length since 2018’s soil. The R&B artist has taken a more pop-forward approach for this release, as demonstrated on early singles like “Fellowship”, “Same Size Shoe”, and “Heart Storm”. Regardless of the shift in sonics, however, serpent is still writing about many of the same vulnerable themes, particularly Black gay love.
As he told Consequence of Sound in our recent AOTM interview,
“I see myself writing about gay love and Black gay love specifically for a long time. That’s what I’ve been writing about, whether people knew in the beginning or not. I was always thinking about Black men. I’m always thinking about dating Black men and that wonderful experience of dating Black men. I think I’ll be as honest as I can, and sometimes that honesty comes via a more gloomy song or something more melancholy, and sometimes that comes in a package that is very effervescent and highly spirited and animated. So, I think I’m always gonna be as honest as I can be and as vulnerable as I can be.
That’s always been my goal, to be vulnerable in my music, which is always a risk, but which has proven to be very rewarding. I think it’s a blessing that I’m able to make music and that people find something in it that is worth returning to. So, I will always be vulnerable and honest. That is a commitment I can make.”
Editors’ Picks
DEACON features contributions from Sampha and Lil Shiva (“Fellowship”) and NAO (“Heart Storm”). Stream the full thing below, followed by the cover artwork and tracklist.
DEACON Artwork:
DEACON Tracklist:
01. Hyacinth
02. Same Size Shoe
03. Malik
04. Amir
05. Dawn
06. Sailors’ Superstition
07. Heart Storm (Feat. NAO)
08. Wood Boy
09. Derrick’s Beard
10. Old & Fine
11. Fellowship
