Deacon

Shedding the gothic, heavily orchestral avant-pop darkness of his debut, Josiah Wise completely pivoted toward a bright, profoundly joyful celebration of Black queer love. The incredibly warm, largely acoustic R&B arrangements highlight his gorgeous, classically trained vibrato and hyper-specific, deeply romantic lyricism regarding domestic bliss. The record was praised for its radical, unashamed gentleness and brilliant modern pop-soul sensibilities.