Eric Grubbs
Leon Bridges Released The First Single Of His Upcoming EP And It’s An Incredible Peek Of What’s To Come — But We Expect Nothing Different.
Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.
Leon Bridges With Khruangbin – “B-Side”
RIYL: When the sun goes down
What else you should know: As Fort Worth’s Leon Bridges continues to grow and expand his sonic adventures as a solo artist, he still has time for collaborations.
Working with Houston-based trio Khruangbin once again for a follow-up to the stunning 2019 four-song Texas Sun EP, Texas Moon will be released in February of 2022. They released the first single for it last week, “B-Side,” and it’s our pick for Song of the Day.
If you think of “Texas Sun” as a great way to start your day with the sun rising in the east, “B-Side” is for when the sun has completely gone down in the west. Sounding more like something Curtis Mayfield worked out while writing and recording his classic Superfly soundtrack, “B-Side” has a constant, subtle guitar fill by Mark Speer. Laura Lee and DJ Johnson keep the rhythm section down pat, allowing Bridges and Speer to riff off each other.
Paired with its Wild West ghost town video, this song is a much different side of what these four create.
Bridges’ voice remains a welcome sound, as he blends a classic R&B style with the warmth of gospel. He’s a global star, but retains a Texas sound no matter what he does. It’s the sound that fills up your senses as you travel throughout the highways and side roads throughout the Lone Star State.
Singing about missing a love while he’s away (and far away), he talks about how he feels tied in his mind, and longs to be reunited. “Deeply miss your love/When I’m far away/In another place/All that I dream of/My chest is your pillow” goes the opening lines.
Bridges’ focus is on his solo material, as evidenced by another winner in 2021’s Gold Digger’s Sound, but these collaborations continue to make for an argument we’ll be talking about his work for decades to come.