Leon Bridges’ “Leon”, released Oct. 4 is a smooth, relaxing and mellow album that aims to imitate the most peaceful times and places in a person’s life. In 13 tracks, Bridges manages to astoundingly capture what it’s like to truly be in a peaceful place. That very notion is exemplified in his songs, “Peaceful Place” and “Simplify”, which are both dedicated to that feeling, as they talk about his experiences in his own special places. A slow and tranquil array of sounds accompanies Leon’s journey through life. The mellow vocals convey who Leon is at heart, his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, and the girls he has fallen in love with.
“Leon” is, unsurprisingly, about himself. The instrumentation, being mainly easygoing drums and a modest guitar, could have been pumped up a bit to make the album more dynamic. Bringing a little heat and extra energy into some of these slow songs would add variety to the tracks. The vocals, however, are silky and retro, giving off the vibe of driving on a summer night just for the fun of it.
The album is a love letter to his town of Fort Worth, which he lovingly calls Panther City. Thus, “Panther City” is a track depicting the vibe of summertime as a child in Fort Worth. With such gentle vocal performance, Bridges’ voice stands out above the backing instrumental, creating a microcosmic feeling of what it’s like to be present with him.
“Laredo”, the third track on the album, has an incredibly interesting story. While in Laredo, Leon wanted to ask for a girl’s number, but left the next day and has always wondered what could have happened if he made a different choice. He asks, “What if I stayed in Laredo just one more night,” echoing his craving for the past. This concept of longing is accompanied by a downtempo tune that gives off a melancholic and wistful vibe that imitates thoughts of what could have been. As a piece of writing, this song is poetic in nature, and that is backed up by the low-key and rocksteady, jazzy instrumentation of the song.
This album has many soothing melodies, however, monotonous lyrics and tunes that sound similar to the previous tracks make this an overall boring experience for the listener. It gets hard to differentiate between the love songs, as the vibe and message of the tracks are very similar, thus blending together. The repetitive nature of the themes and the tedious chorus of some of the songs in the back half of the album leaves an underwhelming, yet impressively deep, taste behind.
