serpentwithfeet
cherubim
Secretly Canandian/Intertia
Following on from recent single bless ur heart, cherubim is the second release from serpentwithfeet’s upcoming album soil, out next month. While bless ur heart has stylistic echoes of his 2016 EP blisters, cherubim is a big, juicy, dirty and exciting departure.
Opening with an angelic 10 second intro, serpent sets you up with expectations of his trademark soul/R&B ballads, but the song quickly descends into a dramatic soundscape of heart-pounding drums, choral chants, and his incredible vibrato.
At the core of it all lies a song of devoted love, which is so expertly wrapped in a thick fog drama – the type that only comes with obsessive, all consuming, intoxicating love – it ends up feeling unsettling in all the right ways, giving the listener one hell of a shakedown.
The religious references are rife, evident in both the lyrical (worship, devote, throne) and musical forms (I have never heard a church organ sound so good). It all adds to the drama and heightens the opulence of the song’s layers.
At just over the three and a half minute mark, this powerhouse song is over in an intense flash, and best played on repeat.
KATH ROBINSON
