It seems a bit ridiculous to refer to a Grammy nominee as “underrated,” much less one who has performed alongside R&B luminaries the likes of Pharrell Williams and performed in Washington D.C. as part of the “In Performance at the White House” series under the purview of the Obamas. Nevertheless, R&B/Soul savant Leon Bridges, despite having racked up all these achievements and more, deserves still more recognition for his exemplary songcraft than he’s yet received. His artistry certainly equals that of modern household names in the genre like the aforementioned Williams or John Legend, and garners constant comparison to Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and other titans of Soul-past. His most recent single, “Peaceful Place” – released in advance of his forthcoming album Leon – is yet another impeccably stylish feather in Bridges’ already weighty cap, this time with some added equatorial flare.
“Peaceful Place” begins with a bright, bongo and rim-click driven-rhythm, paired with a pulsating bass sleekly detailing the song’s enticing, easy-going melodic arc. Bridges’ smooth-as-silk delivery is inexorably sweet to the ears – one immediately understands with the near-constant comparisons to Cooke et al. That said, the combination of a southern hemisphere-style beats at the song’s bedrock with the chiming guitar and glittering keys floating atop recalls Talking Heads circa Remain in Light or Naked as much as it does the relentlessly relaxed soul rhythms of, say, What’s Going On, or even the continent-hopping efforts of Paul Simon on Graceland. “Peaceful Place” sounds like it was made to be played on a beach – any beach, anywhere, be it in the tropics of the Caribbean or the or the sands of the Mediterranean.
Tantalizingly groovy, tastefully multi-cultural and, ultimately evoking a sense of effortless calm – not stillness, but utter calm – “Peaceful Place” is the type of song where the mere act of listening refreshes in the same way a deep breath of fresh air does. Rarely does a song so perfectly capture a sonic snapshot of such a feeling or frame of mind with such precision and grace, but Bridges, as always, delivers the goods.