“GRIP” by serpentwithfeet

A lush, sensual combo of club and bedroom anthems.

Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!

Today’s music pick is the latest LP from serpentwithfeet, a lush collection of club and bedroom anthems.

Genre: R&B, Electronic

Label: Secretly Canadian

Release Date: February 16, 2024

Vibe: 💓

Baltimore R&B and electronic artist serpentwithfeet (born Josiah Wise) bridges the lustful anticipation of a darkened nightclub with carnal bedroom consumation on GRIP, his intoxicating new LP. The writing is deeply personal, sometimes confessional, without ever forcing false emotional notes or resorting to gimmicks. Perhaps even more impressively, he never keeps the listener at arm’s length despite the subject matter. Instead, GRIP is an inviting listen, creating a more intimate, relatable experience.

Even if you’re not living in Wise’s world, the sentiments are as universal as they come. For example, on “Spades,” he moves seamlessly between longing (“Loved you since I was 17 years old/ I’m not ashamed that these feelings won’t go”) and appreciation (“So glad life ain’t turn you to stone/ Got a new zip code/ But boy, you still feel like home”). It’s a deceptively tricky bit of business to pull off. The album opens with a certified banger, “Damn Gloves.” Reminiscent of mid-2000s dance-rap hybrids from the likes of Missy Elliott, serpentwithfeet coos seductively in his lover’s ear, telling him he’s going to kiss him “longer than an opera.” Ty Dolla $ign also turns in a decent cameo, a welcome relief after 2024’s disastrous Ye collaboration.

Tracks like “Deep End” and “Rum/Throwback” amp up the trap-infused charm, pushing through the strictly physical to reach a more vulnerable spot. It’s Dark Child-era Quiet Storm for a hookup culture sensibility, papering over insecurities with nostalgic (can we say classier?) R&B histrionics. From Marvin Gaye to Usher to The Weeknd, what is exciting R&B, if not sex, mixed with melodrama and shaken vigorously into a delicious sonic cocktail?

👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈