After the slight nosedive in quality coming from his last project, ‘GRIP’ is the newest entry that dabbles closer to the mainstream trap R&B scene with even less quality results. Carving out yet another path inspired by the black queer nightclub scene, this 3rd project from serpentwithfeet, unfortunately, holds a grip on some of his underwhelming set of songs to date.
Back in his debut project, ‘soil’, serpentwithfeet’s unique qualities as a vocalist with his trilling vibratos and as a writer that matches his performances have informed of the potential that he has as an artist, where even despite the spare air in the production side, there are enough odd nooks and crannies that serpentwithfeet is able to tiptoe around them and carry some stunning melodies alongside it. However, things eventually changed back when he put out ‘DEACON’, a lighter and upbeat project where his vocal presence still carries what the overall project is aiming for in its embrace of lilting queer love, yet all fall apart immediately due to the irritating production choices and less cutting melodies that renders ‘DEACON’ to be a lesser follow-up to his debut, smoothing the overall scope with fewer distinctive qualities. Not exactly a bad project, but certainly one where it just doesn’t go along with what serpentwithfeet can really dig to, especially with the less ambitious ideas that come with that project.
And unfortunately, that lack of ambitiousness eventually manifests into ‘GRIP’. Through the concrete swerve to a mainstream brand of R&B, there is, unfortunately, less room for serpentwithfeet’s presence to spill through, as there are a couple of factors with this shift in sound that just does not work. The immediate targets are the production and the melodies. Filled with skittering trap beats that have the usual dense textures that not only carry spare tunes, but it is the usual brand of desaturated, bulky textures that get extremely stale extremely fast, especially when the production does not mesh together certain cuts that carry different tones in the project’s overall tempered mood of the project. Starting from the opening track to the song ‘Hummin’, the mix of autotune warble slathered across muddy beats is a weird combo that does not coalesce with serpentwithfeet’s performances that are starting to become deflated as each track goes by. It’s not exactly a positive aspect that the overall length of the project runs under 30 minutes long, which means that, like in ‘DEACON’, the melodies that were written out are flimsy and weak. Treating them to become fragmented more than fleshed-out tracks that can allow serpentwithfeet’s unique trilling notes to bubble up and reach out in intriguing ways.
There are some organic passages that work much better for serpentwithfeet. The acoustic touches on ‘Safe Word’ and especially ‘Lucky Me’ are a nicer fit for serpentwithfeet as he is able to swoon and twist a bit more in this brand of atmosphere, where his vocal presence carries the unique lilting essence that he has shown on ‘soil’ and some sections on ‘DEACON’. While the length of the songs doesn’t make the best of the compositions at all, some of the features do contribute what they could to these diminished songs. Ty Dolla Sign’s brief yet potent singing on ‘Damn Gloves’ fits much more comfortably than serpentwithfeet’s and Yanga Yaya’s more tense vocal deliveries, and Orion Sun’s softer cadence within the solid tune on ‘Ellipsis’ as she easily takes the spotlight once she gets in the song.
Sadly, the writing does falter on a lot of corners as well. Essentially inspired by serpentwithfeet’s tribute to the black queer nightclubs, it’s a project that explores tentative queer relationships that come from the protagonist weaving in and out of one-night stands, reminiscing ex-partners, and feeling frustrated and undesirable on queer nightclubs that eventually go into the eventual shaky position of being in that newfound love that has its fickle conflicts here and there. Yet, despite all of that, the project then provides a resolution where even in that post-breakup situation, the protagonist and his ex still keep their friendship, and the protagonist is quite proud of said ex for finding a new lover amidst all of what has happened. While the arc itself is neatly worked on, the problem is just how the overall brand of writing that serpentwithfeet carries on this arc lacks any stark details or sharper phrases, making it less lyrically distinctive and less emotionally gripping as a result. It doesn’t help matters when the writing is drowned under the frothing production that might make sense with the inspirations, but it’s way too desaturated to even stick and oftentimes creates a sloppy mix for most of these songs.
Looking back on ‘GRIP’ within serpentwithfeet’s discography thus far, it hurts to say when an artist like serpentwithfeet tiptoes in a streamlined sound and carries ideas that just don’t do much for him and do not allow his strengths to be shown. Just like with ‘DEACON’, the abbreviated run time of these songs does not allow the project to flourish amidst weak melodies, dull performances, and milk-toast trap production that nestle with the scope of the respectful, albeit middling writing. ‘GRIP’ may as well stand as serpentwithfeet’s dullest project to date where he might have a firm control over where he wants the project’s sound to be, yet it’s one that never flattered his unique presence, making his overall presence less distinguishable than what it used to be.
Favorite Tracks: ‘Safe Word’, ‘Spades’, ‘Elipsis’, ‘Lucky Me’
Least Favorite Track: ‘Rum / Throwback’