Deacon

serpentwithfeet

Deacon

Second album of soulful r&b from the Baltimore born Josiah Wise

ADM rating[?]

8.0

Label
Secretly Canadian
UK Release date
26/03/2021
US Release date
26/03/2021
  1. 10.0 |   The Independent

    In the universally accepting, technicolour world DEACON creates, serpent is free to love and to just be. It may well serve as inspiration for others to do the same
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  2. 9.1 |   Consequence Of Sound

    The experimental artist’s sophomore album fuses R&B with pop and gospel
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  3. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Deacon is a rich and elegant ode to love proving serpentwithfeet’s untouchable calibre
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  4. 9.0 |   Clash

    ‘DEACON’ is a triumph because it realises and relives love’s quiet, archived moments, be it romantic or spiritual. It’s a triumph because it reminds us R&B exists on a vast continuum, forever a source of inspiration and innovation
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  5. 8.4 |   Beats Per Minute

    This serpent is brandishing new skin, redefined and transformed, not by the will of others but by his own love-led volition
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  6. 8.0 |   Gigwise

    Preciously tender and intimately warm
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  7. 8.0 |   Paste Magazine

    The Ty Dolla $ign and Björk collaborator’s brief sophomore LP is his gentlest, warmest work yet
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  8. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    There’s almost an irony to the fact that, both personally and musically, such a complex character with such a wealth of ability and knowledge seems to have expressed himself most succinctly by stripping away the accoutrements. He has made what is, at its heart, a genuine soul record
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  9. 8.0 |   The Observer

    This poppy, life-affirming ode to gay domestic bliss is a paean to black people ‘living their damn life anyhow’
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  10. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    The latest from Josiah Wise unfolds like a party record for people partying alone in their living room
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  11. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    serpentwithfeet’s second album is more focused than his first, a stunning portrayal of love in all its forms as it beats Josiah Wise down and ultimately saves him
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  12. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    It's a rare record that highlights Black queer love
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  13. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    When Wise sings “I’m thankful for the love I share with my friends,” on the chorus of album closer ‘Fellowship,’ it’s hard to imagine – after a year of separations, of text messages just checking in and Zoom calls substituting real celebrations or bereavements – a more beautiful sentiment
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  14. 8.0 |   NME

    Album two softens the more uneasy edges of the Baltimore artist's earlier releases and celebrates Black gay love – with blissful results
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  15. 8.0 |   DIY

    ‘DEACON’ looks for hope in love, much like in the spirituality that birthed it
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  16. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    The artist scales back the divine aspirations and melodramatic tendencies, resulting in his most secular work to date
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  17. 8.0 |   All Music

    More soothing and fulfilling than thrilling, Deacon revolves around the idea that love doesn't have to be a burden. It's a realization that serpentwithfeet transforms into a beautiful, fully realized work of art for his audience to savor
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  18. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    DEACON is certainly a less confrontational album than soil, but the album's inviting sound allows Wise's raw talent to shine all the brighter
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  19. 7.5 |   Under The Radar

    Whether it’s maturity, finding true love, or a move to the West Coast, DEACON’s disposition is perennially sunny with little effort put to questioning the outcome
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  20. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    The former Baltimore troubadour is vibrantly fixing a new identity for himself with the songs that make up DEACON and it is a joyous one that casts a rosy glow
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  21. 7.0 |   Pitchfork

    Josiah Wise’s second album is an eager, effervescent tale of romance, outlining a genealogy that stretches from gospel to the shiny, gossamer R&B of the ’90s and ’00s.
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  22. 6.0 |   The FT

    Josiah Wise explores romantic themes through expansive and appreciative songs
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