Quantcast
HITS Daily Double
Critics' Choice
LISTEN BEFORE CASTING YOUR BALLOT: LEON BRIDGES, COMING HOME
10/28/15

Leon Bridges, Coming Home (Columbia): How does a 21st-Century kid from Texas so utterly capture not merely the sound but the vibe, the spirit, of classic Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Solomon Burke records? However he does it, Bridges is heaven-sent—and while the Best New Artist buzz on him is deafening, his debut full-length also deserves thorough consideration. At its core is an authenticity, even an innocence, befitting the consistently gorgeous material, such as the incandescent “Brown Skin Girl,” the stirring “Better Man,” the Muscle Shoals funk of “Smooth Sailin’” and the moving tribute to his mom, “Lisa Sawyer.” Coming Home flows with seemingly effortless grace, moving past the self-conscious nostalgia of much tradition-minded music and going right to the heart.