Coming Home (Leon Bridges album)

For the title track from the album, see Coming Home (Leon Bridges song).
Coming Home
Studio album by Leon Bridges
Released June 23, 2015
Recorded 2014–15
Genre
Length 34:11
Label Columbia
Producer Niles City Sound
Singles from Coming Home
  1. "Coming Home"
    Released: February 3, 2015[1]
  2. "Smooth Sailin'"
    Released: June 2, 2015[2]

Coming Home is the debut studio album by American gospel and soul singer Leon Bridges, it was released on June 23, 2015, under Columbia Records. The album was written by Leon Bridges, Austin Michael Jenkins, Joshua Block, Chris Vivion and produced by Niles City Sound.

The album was supported by two singles; "Coming Home" and "Smooth Sailin'". Upon its release, Coming Home received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 78, based on 21 reviews. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Singles

"Coming Home" was released as the lead single from the album in February 2015, through Columbia Records.[3] The song continued the success of the demo version and became a "Top 10 Most Viral Track" on Spotify, the same month as its release.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Clash8/10[6]
Consequence of SoundB[7]
Exclaim!9/10[8]
The Guardian[9]
NME8/10[10]
The Observer[11]
Pitchfork Media7.0/10[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Spin7/10[14]

Upon its release, Coming Home received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[4] Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound said, "On Coming Home, Bridges solidly aligns with the latter, his soulful R&B studied and nostalgic, but also immediate and emotionally true."[7] Ryan Patrick of Exclaim! said, "Coming Home is a star-making vehicle that is solidly crafted, robustly traditionalist and palpably soulful. This is not just a nostalgia act; this is music from the heart, and the soul."[8] Leonie Cooper of NME also gave the album a positive review stating, "Coming Home exists in a satin-swathed timewarp that takes you back 55 years. Texan singer Leon Bridges’ debt to the warmth of soul pioneer Sam Cooke is evident in every tune on a debut album where even the stylish artwork acts as an unreconstructed envoy to a 1960 dependent on daiquiris and dinner dances."[10] Kitty Empire of The Observer said, "Coming Home is, perhaps, a healthy reiteration of the classic sounds of succour in a time of need; a principled and mellifluous nay-saying."[11] Ernest Wilkins of Pitchfork Media said, "While he obviously has good intentions, at times, Bridges can't help but come off as an imitator."[12] Chuck Arnold of Rolling Stone gave the album a positive review stating, "Leon Bridges is a throwback to the days when guys did things like "swim the Mississippi" to impress their dates ("Better Man"). But this retro-soul man doesn't have to work so hard to win you over on his debut LP: His smooth, Sam Cooke-esque croon makes Coming Home the best kind of nostalgia trip. Tunes like the tender title track dance right back to the late Fifties, and album closer "River" is a gospel-blues testimony that runs deep."[13]

Harley Brown of Spin said, "What it does best is address the simple lament of not having anything to twist to in too long."[14] Jonathan Hatchman of Clash gave the album a positive review stating, "Texas has always been a state synonymous with pioneering musical innovation. Yet, with the release of Fort Worth native Leon Bridges' debut album, an anomaly has arisen which sends the listener back into the past. Having begun his career with a string of open-mic night shows, his rich blend of soul and rhythm 'n' blues influences peppered a demo of Bridges' album title track, which received an overwhelming level of success after its appearance on SoundCloud."[6] Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "It's all a pleasing time warp without turbulence, one with songs built more to evoke the past than to last in one's memory."[5] Tim Jonze of The Guardian said, "Bridges has a fantastic voice, but you sense he's also yet to truly find it."[9]

Accolades

The album was first featured in Rolling Stone's "Best Albums of 2015 So Far" mid-year list.[15] For its year-end list of best albums, the magazine ranked the album at number 31.[16]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 equivalent copies (38,000 in pure album sales).[17] On June 24, 2015, the album was at number 5 on the The Official Chart Update in the United Kingdom.[18]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Coming Home"  
 3:26
2. "Better Man"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 2:21
3. "Brown Skin Girl"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 3:26
4. "Smooth Sailin'"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 3:07
5. "Shine"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 3:38
6. "Lisa Sawyer"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 4:05
7. "Flowers"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 2:56
8. "Pull Away"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 3:02
9. "Twistin' & Groovin'"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 4:14
10. "River"  
  • Bridges
  • Jenkins
  • Block
  • Vivion
 3:56
Total length:
 34:11

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 41
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[21] 10
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 61
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 89
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 35
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 8
US Billboard 200[27] 6

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Ref
United States June 23, 2015 Columbia Records
[28]

References

  1. ↑ "Amazon.com: Coming Home: Leon Bridges: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Amazon.com: Smooth Sailin': Leon Bridges: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Leon Bridges, 'Coming Home'". NPR Music. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Reviews for Coming Home by Leon Bridges". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  5. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "Coming Home - Leon Bridges". AllMusic. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Hatchman, Jonathan (2015-06-16). "Leon Bridges - Coming Home". Clash. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  7. 1 2 Kivel, Adam (June 23, 2015). "Leon Bridges – Coming Home". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Patrick, Ryan. "Leon Bridges Coming Home". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Jonze, Tim. "Leon Bridges: Coming Home review". The Guardian. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Cooper, Leonie. "Texan soul man cooks up a retro-R&B classic with two members of White Denim". NME. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  11. 1 2 Empire, Kitty. "Coming Home by Leon Bridges review". The Observer. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Leon Bridges: Coming Home". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Coming Home - Leon Bridges". Rolling Stone. 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
  14. 1 2 "Review: Leon Bridges, 'Coming Home'". Spin. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Leon Bridges, 'Coming Home' - 45 Best Albums of 2015 So Far". Rolling Stone. June 16, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Leon Bridges, 'Coming Home' - 50 Best Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Leon Bridges' "Coming Home" Debuts with 38.2K First Week Sales". headlineplanet. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Wolf Alice and Everything Everything battle for Number 1 album". Official Charts Company.
  19. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Leon Bridges – Coming Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Leon Bridges – Coming Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Leon Bridges – Coming Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Leon Bridges – Coming Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Leon Bridges – Coming Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Leon Bridges – Coming Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Leon Bridges | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Leon Bridges - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Coming Home by Leon Bridges on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.