Since 2016, the Baltimore-raised experimental musician Josiah Wise has been warping the dimensions of soul music as serpentwithfeet. His début, “soil,” from 2018, was packed with quietly knocking, R. & B.-tinged electronic music. With his new album, the more refined yet more ambitious “DEACON,” he dares to make gospel pop. Inspired by his move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Wise sets songs about heartbreak aside, centering his voice in search of gentler, more sensuous sounds.
Serpentwithfeet Warps the Dimensions of Soul
With his new album, “DEACON,” the experimental musician dares to make gospel pop.
Photograph by Daniel Jack Lyons for The New Yorker