If there’s one thing about Leon Bridges that has remained constant, it’s that his album covers tell us a lot about what his music is going to sound like. His debut album “Coming Home” saw Bridges standing in a James Brown-like pose in slacks and a coat. The ultra-popular album ended up being a hit, compiled of 1950-60s soul tracks.
His preceding albums, “Good Thing” and “Gold-Diggers Sound,” portrayed Bridges under dark light with a more modern vibe. And to no one’s surprise, the albums consist of jazzy, R&B songs that stray from the soulful tone of his debut album.
Bridges sits beside a shimmering pond on the cover of his fourth studio album “Leon.” The natural colors pop, and Bridges stretches his legs out as he lounges in a vintage lawn chair.
The 13-song, 43-minute long project is as colorful, cool and as bright as the album cover would suggest. Bridges’ voice is smooth over instrumentals that move faster than the ones he typically sings to, and the sweet, airy vibe made it so pleasant to listen to.
This 10-year run that Bridges is on has made it difficult to narrow him down to one genre. His debut was firmly rooted in soul sounds that mimicked the great Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, but he immediately jumped off the soul train and broadened out into a modern, R&B tone. How I see it, “Leon” is the perfect mix of everything Bridges has produced in the last decade.
“Leon” gives you something different in each song, with tastes of his classic style while also hinting that the 35-year-old artist is somehow still evolving.
“Laredo” is the first sliver of something foreign, as Bridges sings over a bold piano and Spanish style guitars. Up until this point I had never heard the Atlanta-born singer perform over Spanish guitars. It was different, but I loved it.
Bridges keeps the surprises coming on “Ain’t Got Nothing On You” and “Never Satisfied.” The tracks are upbeat, neo soul songs with a mix of Bridge’s soft voice and colorful instrumentals that coexist beautifully.
“Peaceful Place” is the song that’ll have you floating down Caf Lane — if that’s what you’re into. We got this song back in August when the album was announced, and it set the tone for the entire project. The constant tapping of a drum paired with the angelic voices of Bridges’ background singers creates a dreamy tune that I’ve been obsessed with since August.
Bridges gets super experimental with the backend of the album. His style is so classic and unique to him that it feels wrong to compare him to anyone, but there are some definite hints of Daniel Caesar and Bob Marley on the final songs. His voice taking on the techno-R&B style of Caesar with this calmness that can only be compared to Bob Marley made for an out-of-body experience to end the album.
This transformation of Bridges’ voice and vibe kind of makes sense considering he covered Marley’s “Redemption Song” to contribute to the movie “Bob Marley: One Love.” Bridges showed he could emulate reggae music that leans to the slower side, and “Ivy” and “Can’t Have It All” reminded me of Marley in the best way possible.
After “Ivy” the album quietly ends with two final songs that didn’t necessarily wow me. After slowing down for a couple of songs, I don’t think it would have hurt Bridges to end the project with a bang.
Besides the ending, I didn’t have a ton of critiques for Bridges’ fourth album. I thought the first song, “When a Man Cries,” should have ended the album — not started it. The dramatic echoing of Bridges’ voice paired with a loud piano would have been a thrilling way to conclude this neo soul journey, but Bridges likely knows best and thought this would be the way to jump start things, not end them.
I also thought for an October album, the majority of the songs are awfully bright and joyful. They reference down south summers and Bridges describes a lover of his as a “honeybee.” The leaves are turning orange outside the homes of the majority of his fans, so such a dazzling album seemed like it should have been given to us in July not October.
I know this album will be a mainstay for me on those days when the fog swallows up Point Loma, and maybe that’s what Bridges was aiming for with such a colorful album to begin fall. His voice is still soft enough to allow his fans to enjoy the album during the quiet of night or during a mellow sunset.
“Leon” proves there’s really not much that Bridges can’t do anymore. He captivated fans a decade ago with soulful songs from a past generation, reeled us in with modern R&B and now has us for good with a project that mixed every genre that resides in Bridges’ realm of music. The versatility of this album made it so fun, and when I compile some projects for my “Best Music of the Year” story you will definitely be hearing Bridges’ name again.
