BLACK VINYL Leon Bridges indicated that some of the material on Leon was written during the making of his previous album, Gold-Diggers Sound, and that the ideas didn't fall into place within the context of tunes such as "Motorbike," "Steam," and "Sweeter." The back half of Gold-Diggers Sound contained a slight departure in the spare and ambling romantic ballad "Sho Nuff" -- not about the villain from The Last Dragon -- co-written by Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian. It seems possible that at least a portion of the holdover songs also involved Fitchuk and Tashian, given that the duo are the main collaborators here, writing, producing, and providing a variety of the instrumentation along with fellow Kacey Musgraves associate Josh Moore. No salvage job, Leon simply has a rather distinct sonic character and a lyrical emphasis on nostalgic visions of Bridges' childhood. The singer's music has always been at home on adult album alternative radio stations, especially among contemporaries described as roots music, and his fourth LP sounds tailor-made for the format. It has a rustic elegance stabilized by workmanlike drums and lively acoustic guitars. There's a small string section on "That's What I Love," a tastefully gilded ballad with Bridges' easygoing and poetic enumeration of bright memories, and on the soaring "God Loves Everyone," which continues the singer's practice of delivering moving finales. "Never Satisfied" and "Peaceful Place," consecutive Side Two highlights, cascade and prance with more of a soul-funk edge granted by plump basslines and layers of keyboards that include spacy Mellotron. The album actually begins like it will take a different path with the John Mayer collaboration "When a Man Cries," an anguished ballad where Bridges sings in relatively general terms of an urge to "turn my pain into power, my fear into desire." Almost every song thereafter has a strong sense of place, usually in Bridges' Fort Worth and almost always in Texas. He's in and near bodies of water, on the roads, at the corner store, smelling his mother's gumbo, heeding his father's advice to steer clear of shady characters. Recollections of love interests are related with affectionate detail. It might all verge on saccharine if Bridges didn't also tint some of his storytelling with longing and regret, as he does most vividly on "Simplify," another high point despite its low spirit. A1 When A Man CriesA2 That's What I LoveA3 LaredoA4 Panther CityA5 Ain't Got Nothing On YouA6 SimplifyA7 Teddy's TuneB1 Never SatisfiedB2 Peaceful PlaceB3 Can't Have It AllB4 IvyB5 Ghetto HoneybeeB6 God Loves Everyone
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