The Leon Bridges Albums Ranked
I came to Leon Bridges’ music relatively late, but from what I can glean, he kind of blasted onto the Texas scene with throwback tunes channeling the pop, soul, and R&B of the late 1950s and 1960s. Across the four albums Bridges has released in the nine years since 2015, he’s pushed and pulled against the easy “retro” assignment bestowed upon him early in his career while never forsaking the power of those initial inspirations. Omitted from this piece exploring his work are the EPs TEXAS SUN (2020) and TEXAS MOON (2022), both good collaborations with fellow Texans Khruangbin.
#4 — LEON (2024)
Favorite track: “Panther City”
LEON is Bridges’ latest album at the time of this writing, comes after the biggest gap between his records at about three-and-a-half years, and it represents his sound’s ongoing evolution into something more ethereal. It’s not like his latest collections of tracks are missing satisfying pop structure, but they’re not as easily pigeon-holed into genre and expected track functions. That makes for something artistically impressive but also a little more scattershot, as is the most obvious case with LEON. “Panther City” is a beautiful example of how Bridges transitions, within even the same song, from spacey atmosphere to driving choruses. But the energy, pace, and tone of this standout track isn’t joined by as many comparably great songs as can be found on his other albums. Bridges has yet to make a bad album, or even one less than quite good, so LEON’s relative place at “the bottom” should not obscure its soulful rumination on inner peace.
#3 — GOOD THING (2018)
Favorite track: “Beyond”
Bridges’ sophomore album, GOOD THING, certainly didn’t abandon the particular flavor of popular Americana he channeled on his debut, but it integrated more modern pop production and sounds. That’s very noticeable on “Beyond,” which sounds almost like a Bruno Mars joint; even though it’s my standout track, that comparison could go two ways. Ultimately, the song represents the ethos of GOOD THING, which updates Bridges’ old evocations rather than serves as a faithful (re-)recreation. You can hear the artist striving to escalate his reach, not just commercially but also generically, which may be kind of reflected by the greater number of writers on the record’s songs (his debut was written by a consistent quartet including Bridges himself). GOOD THING may be less experimental and feels a bit more tentative as an artistic proclamation than LEON, but it does carry an element of an “easy listen” that rises above malaise.
#2 — GOLD-DIGGERS SOUND (2021)
Favorite track: “Sho Nuff”
So far, you really can divide Bridges’ four albums into two approaches. That second era starts with GOLD-DIGGERS SOUND, which more decisively and effectively executes on the musician’s obvious intent to “diversify” than on GOOD THING. It would be a reach to say this record incorporates full-on “hip-hop elements,” but there is certainly a greater amount of drum programming and other synth-y sounds. They complement Bridges’ voice (which I’ve yet to address the amazingness of) and established instincts rather than subsume it into some pitiful attempt to hit mainstream appeal. The grooviness of his past records is not eradicated by large energy spikes; I would not necessarily characterize Bridges’ music as total party dance music at any stage so far. But there’s a playfulness and awareness to the alternate streams Bridges is diving into on GOLD-DIGGERS SOUND that makes it a wonderful representation of where he can take his sound after a career-defining debut.
#1 — COMING HOME (2015)
Favorite track: “River”
Speaking of that debut: I’d hazard a guess COMING HOME remains Bridges’ most popular album commercially and critically. There’s good reason for that; multiple reasons, really. Much was and is made of how the artist channeled the magic of, again, late 1950s and ’60s Black music of all kinds, from pop to gospel to R&B to soul etc. And that’s very true. I’ve used words like “recreation” to describe this effect. For example, the amazing gospel tune “River” sounds like it could have been a ballad delivered in 1965. But that does a disservice to what Bridges does with COMING HOME. Yes, he calls back to a certain pop culture sensibility, especially with the more “swinging” and upbeat tracks. Yes, there is an obvious reference to that even before you listen to the album: look at Bridges’ outfit, the typeface, and the overall design on the cover. But he slyly updates, along with co-writers Austin Jenkins, Joshua Block, and Chris Vivion, the obvious inspirations into songs that stand alone in their unique catchiness and emotional power. COMING HOME is one of those debut albums that seems to have been spawned out of divine providence. Of course Bridges and his collaborators worked hard at their craft and must have had some fits and starts. But from an outside perspective, to get something this great “on wax” as a “first try,” is incredible. COMING HOME is far and away Bridges’ best album and perhaps his only unequivocal success so far, which is not meant to slander his subsequent experiments, but to praise his debut as something quite special.
