The first time you hear Leon Bridges, you’ll probably think your ears are playing tricks on you. Surely, you reckon, this has to be a Sam Cooke record. See Bridges live, close your eyes and it’s the same reaction.
But there’s a whole lot more to the Texan gunslinger than those Cooke-indebted shadows. Here’s a singer who was spending his days working at cafes and restaurants in Fort Worth and writing songs in his head, before White Denim guitarist Austin Jenkins chanced on his weekly gig at the city’s Magnolia Motor Lounge. Jenkins and bandmate Josh White were smitten and decided to work with the singer.
One thing lead to another and Bridges is now hooked up with a major label which has embarked on a a serious marketing drive and all that that brings with it.
The thing is, though, Bridges has the wherewithal to back up all of these expectations. A star from head to toe in stylish vintage clobber, Bridges is a singer rocking gospel, r’n’b and southern soul with fantastic riffs and a sizeable dollop of confidence.
The songs at his disposal here are meaty and substantial, a parade of tunes which benefit from a kind of secret sauce to ensure that their throwback flavours don’t quite dominate the dish.
Again and again, he repeats the trick all great soul singers have of taking you with him on the journey. Take Smooth Sailin', for instance. It's got the funk and it makes no bones about it, with Bridges effortlessly finding his way to the heart of the groove and bringing the listener with him.
Be it the romantic sway which makes the title track such an earworm, the gorgeous doo-wop tones which mark out Better Man or how Lisa Sawyer is a cheeky, yet lovely portrait of his mother, Bridges makes the art of writing infectious songs seem like the easiest thing in the world to do.
If he keeps doing this in the future, those Cooke comparisons will begin to fade into the rear-view mirror.
