serpentwithfeet - Same Size Shoe
Love is creation—collective cultivation producing an exclusive sense of joy that often becomes a cynosure to the world outside. Love is bare feet slapping against cold wooden floors on a particularly warm day—invigorating, assuaging, empathetic. Love is a shared experience, and the Baltimore-hailing artist serpentwithfeet explicates this to be in more ways than one in his latest release, “Same Size Shoe."
The release is a charming and emotionally profound breath of fresh air to carry us into the new season. Bearing the signature celestial vocals and distinctive serpentwithfeet style, the enlivening track is a personal attestation to being in love with someone who has undergone similar walks of life. It is a declaration of loving loudly and freely as a Black, gay individual with an impassioned dedication to do so. It is an attestation to the experience of love, resting not only in the fact that the couple can probably double the size of their shoe collection, but that they’re able to understand one another due to their shared experiences of living as Black men. As the adroit artist shared in a statement once, “I prefer to date and love on Black men. I don’t want to be with anyone who can’t go to my barber or walk a mile in my shoes.”
“Same Size Shoe” is a wondrous expedition of the artist's forthcoming album DEACON, which is set to debut on the 26th of March. DEACON stands as the third full-length project serpentwithfeet has released since his 2018 LP soil and 2016 release blisters. The much-anticipated album flaunts an attractive introduction with this track and music video combination, and we’re more than excited for its official release. Photo by Braylen Dion.
— Bianca Brown on March 3, 2021
JR JR - Clean Up
Indie favorites JR JR, formerly known as Dale Earnhardt JR JR, have returned to the scene with new music after their self-titled LP back in 2015. The new single, “Clean Up” offers a look at the mind of someone coming to terms with their addictions and indulgences. The duo uses a throbbing bass line, simple plucked guitar and harmonies to illustrate the conflict that happens when one willfully chooses something that is bad for them. “Clean Up” brings JR JR to a more provocative realm, and one that we are excited to see more of in the upcoming album.
— Nick Arcos on January 7, 2018
Henry Jamison - The Wilds
Henry Jamison is a storyteller at heart. It may be in his blood — his father, a classical composer, and his mother, an English professor — but Jamison is a writer and artist in his own right, evidenced by his debut album The Wilds (released October 27th). Beyond writing, recording and arranging the album all on his own, Jamison has a special ability to bring each track to life. Take his song, “The Wilds”: it’s instrumentally rich without being overbearing, letting Jamison’s narrative whisk you away. “The Wilds” sounds like an old-time American love story - unassuming and familiar, but nevertheless, still surprising.
— Natasha Cucullo on January 7, 2018
Moses Sumney - Plastic
Los Angeles genre-bending artist Moses Sumney released his gorgeous and ethereal debut album Aromanticism into the world this September. Sumney has made a big impression on artists like Solange and Sufjan Stevens for good reason. His infusion of soul and folk come together on this album in a way that leaves us begging for more. A prime example of this heavenly blend is found on the third song of the album, “Plastic.” A previous version of the song can be heard on the first season of Issa Rae’s HBO series, Insecure. This new version serves as one of the more simplistic songs on the album, featuring just a fingerpicked electric guitar, a synth and Sumney’s captivating voice. The hook of the song repeats the line “my wings are made of plastic,” each time sung in a slightly different way than it was before, continuing to imbue the phrase with new meaning. This song of vulnerability, self-awareness and secret-spilling is the kind that you can leave on repeat and get lost in for hours.
— Dara Bankole on October 22, 2017
