Seeking Connection
serpentwithfeet
soil
On soil, singer-songwriter serpentwithfeet explores love with a burning intensity that borders on fanatical. Ever eclectic, he blends the sweeping, spiritual sounds of gospel with the theatrical trill of R&B and the sombre throb of electronic music to deliver a bigger, warmer sound than his previous work. In every sense, soil is an exercise in taking up space. “mourning song” starts as a modest whisper, but quickly blooms into a stirring elegy, while “cherubim” is equal parts tragic and triumphant, with its thumping percussion and fleshy vocals. The album’s closer, “bless ur heart,” occupies two contrasting spaces: it ebbs and swells beautifully, sometimes bold and mighty, other times dainty and delicate. serpentwithfeet’s focus on expansiveness backfires at times, though. He is an impressive songwriter whose lyrics are, for the most part, elegant. But his words creep toward melodrama at times; his poetic tendency is a strength that occasionally doubles as a weakness. Still, small mistakes are the price an art- ist pays for taking risks. (Secretly Canadian)
On 2016’s Blisters, you spoke about wanting to be small. What’s changed?
Well, I have a larger audience now, which has been nice. And I think what happens with most artists is when their audience expands, the artist is inspired to expand as well. On Blisters I focus on the minutiae, but on soil, I’m really interested in taking up more space. I’ve just become bigger as a person. I’m louder and a lot bolder. On this album, the sound is a lot thicker.
Would you say that soil is an exploration of deep, intense love?
Yes, definitely. I think for me, it was exploration of my loving style and trying to understand my own faults.
I try to outline my faults on songs like “seedless” and “messy.” It’s definitely a full self-exploration of love and attachment styles and all of that. I tried to give a balance of the joys and all the disappointments.