Gone are the days of burning CDs onto your computer to add them to your iTunes library, or even (for me at least) buying albums on iTunes itself. Gone are the days of plugging in your earphones to listen to an album for the 40th time that week because you either just purchased it, or are waiting for your next paycheck from your after-school job to pay for another one. Gone are the days of employing that album as a soundtrack to your after-school job to make the time go by quicker until you can buy another album. Fortunately, the days of listening to these albums that you became so familiar with are not gone. If anything, it’s easier to listen to them now and you don’t need to hide your wired earphones from your stingy after-school employer through the hood of your jumper. Maybe this is starting to sound a little too analogous. The album this week was, for me, the soundtrack to working at a butchers shop after school. It supplied rhythm to my sweeping and made scraping fat much more joyful – an activity I had previously thought impossible to improve on. I’m talking about the 2015 soul record ‘Coming Home’ by Leon Bridges.
This album is soul, from top to bottom. Take from that what you will and argue with it as you must, it embodies everything that “soul” music is. Backed by a characterful collection of musicians and engineers, Bridges provides meaningful lyrics in a direct and heartfelt manner. Whether in the soothing lament of the gospel influenced ‘River’ and ‘Shine’, or the infectious grooves of ‘Better Man’ and ‘Twistin’ & Groovin”, Leon Bridges provides! His vocals glide over the metre and the timbre of his voice seems to be delivered straight from his soul.
While the revival of an acoustic soul sound wasn’t anything new, Coming Home did it with a dose of honesty and authenticity. It’s retro base was merely a vehicle for individual expression. I wouldn’t side with the nay-sayers of the time (there’s some contemporary reviews that missed the mark entirely in my opinion). If you’re looking for characterful music to dance to and reflect on (and sweep floors to) then Coming Home is it!
Waxing Lyrical 