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Album reviews Music

>>> Leon Bridges

It’s not surprising that Columbia would put its money behind the debut album by Texan soul singer Leon Bridges: retro R&B is a sound that sells well to both boomers and millennials, and traditionalist rock critics piss their pants with excitement at any young act going this route. What is a shock is just how perfectly Bridges nails the Sam Cooke sound he unapologetically set out to replicate, and that his own personality and magnetic charisma still shine through the sonic costume he’s chosen.

Cooke is the most obvious reference point, but there are also echoes of early Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Otis Redding. Produced by Austin Jenkins and Joshua Block (of psych rockers White Denim), Coming Home was recorded using era-appropriate equipment and techniques, and sounds impressively warm. All the emphasis on getting the realness down doesn’t distract from Bridges’s butter-smooth vocals and inventive phrasing. Instead, the understated arrangements allow us to really hear his voice, unadorned by excessive studio shaping.

Top track: Flowers

Leon Bridges plays the Danforth Music Hall October 23.

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