TRACK REVIEW: Leon Bridges - Why Don’t You Touch Me

TRACK REVIEW:

Leon Bridges

PHOTO CREDIT: @rambo

Why Don’t You Touch Me

9.6/10

The track, Why Don’t You Touch Me, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqgMx3eWdYg

GENRES:

Soul/Neo-Soul

ORIGIN:

Texas, U.S.A.

RELEASE DATE:

18th June, 2021

PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Hardiman

The album, Gold–Diggers Sound, is available from 23rd July, 2021. Pre-order here:

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/leon-bridges/gold-diggers-sound

LABEL:

Columbia

__________

THIS is an interesting review…

PHOTO CREDIT: Bobby Bruderle

as I am featuring a video which is the first of two parts. I am not sure whether the concept for the second part of Why Don’t You Touch Me will be vastly different from the first. The single is out in the world, yet it is interesting that there are two videos for the song. I am referencing the video that went live on Friday (18th June). Keep your eyes open for the second part next week. Why Don’t You Touch Me is the latest song from Leon Bridges. Ahead of the release of the album, Gold–Diggers Sound, we have this gem of a single. I last reviewed Leon Bridges back in 2019. I think it is important to talk about his latest track. Bridges (real name Todd Michael) was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1989. After one year, his family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. They spent a year there before moving to Fort Worth, Texas, where Bridges grew up. I am going to work some background into this review. Before I get to the song and lend my thoughts, I want to highlight Bridges and explore various sides of his career. It is worth noting when he discovered music. In this Under the Radar interview, we learn more about Bridges’ earliest musical tastes:

“Jake Uitti (Under the Radar): When did you first discover music as a young person?

Some of the earliest memories for me was when my mother would go pick up my father from work and she would play the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack. There was a tune by Harry Connick Jr. by the name of “A Wink and a Smile.” I remember as a kid thinking it was kind of like an older tune, not knowing that was a modern record of the time.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Schirmacher for GQ

What do you think originally drew you to older sounds or aesthetics?

Man, I think a lot of that comes from—I would say the seed was planted initially through my parents. My father was really into Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield, and Sam Cooke and my mother was into Anita Baker and Sade. It’s just one of those things—throughout our lives we store so much music and influences and it ultimately just pours out into the art. There was a time in my songwriting journey where I just felt compelled to shape my songs around soul music, along with the community of musicians I used to run with. So, it was a mixture of things I attributed to that sound.

You’re known for playing a million open mics as you were coming up. But where do you think your work ethic comes from in this way?

I think a lot of it, for me, was just like when I was in the restaurant industry. I think the motivation in that time was that I needed to get through the day. And then also not wanting to be deemed as lazy amongst my coworkers and managers. A lot of it is totally almost innate. Something that’s always been ingrained—my mother is a big factor in instilling that within me and my siblings.

I worked as a bartender, waiter, and line cook for many years. Did you work in the front of the house or back of the house?

I worked in the back of the house as a dishwasher. I mean, my whole job trajectory is pretty small. I worked at Six Flags amusement park in Arlington, Texas. I subsequently worked this place called Rosa’s Café and then Del Frisco’s and then I transitioned to doing music for a living. I think working in the back is humbling. It was humbling for me. Even now, I look at it like those types of people who are in those jobs, they keep the world going. So, I think it created that perspective to where I never belittle anyone based on who they are or what they do. I see the humanity within everyone”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @Rambo

Although Bridges was born in Georgia, Forth Worth, Texas is his home. It is in his blood. In 2018, Bridges was interviewed by Schön!. He was promoting his second album, Good Thing. It is interested how living in Texas influenced his music and the attachment to the state:

“That’s too bad since you just bought a house in Texas as well! How do you feel Fort Worth and Dallas have influenced your music?

I think, being from Texas, I was lucky enough to fall into the music scene and meet some really awesome songwriters and musicians. To be around guys who were doing Rock ‘n’ Roll, Blues music and mixed country, that really made an impression on me when I was coming up into the music scene and that’s reflective in my music. I love to incorporate blues and country and that’s just what the South is about —that’s what Texas is about. I really like to incorporate that stuff [in my music].

Do you ever see yourself leaving Texas?

Texas is home but I do see myself that the further I progress in my career, it might be a little problematic to stay in my city — only because, I mean, it’ll be hard to really move around and stay incognito the further I progress. But I do want to keep it home for as long as I can…

So is it kind of sad or bittersweet that you feel you can’t stay? I mean I know home is always going to be there but…

Yeah… it will always be there but it is a bittersweet thing but, you know, it’s kind of a good problem to have. It’s awesome that people feel that way about me and my music but then it’s also a problem when I want to go to a grocery store but, you know, I’m just uninspired because I know that if I go by myself it’s going to turn into a thing. But it’s fun”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jack McKain

Just to go back to musical inspirations. I think one of the things that people noted with Bridges’ debut album, Coming Home, was that there was clear influence in there. Maybe he was wearing those influences on his sleeve too much. The same could be said of our very own Michael Kiwanuka on his debut, 2012’s Home Again. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing! The only problem is that it can be harder to craft your own identity and stand out. I will explore this topic a bit later. Before that, this interview with Esquire caught my eye. In it, they illustrate how the former dishwasher took off and was performing alongside some musical greats:

“Bridges, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, debuted in 2015 with the retro-soul rave-up Coming Home. The sepia-toned album took off, and suddenly the former dishwasher and community college-dropout was sharing stages with the likes of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder and performing for President Obama at the White House. He booked Saturday Night Live and earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B album. And last year, his song “River” went viral thanks, in part, to a placement on the Big Little Lies soundtrack. (Cue his second Grammy nomination, this time for Best Music Video.) He became the newest savior of soul music. “Every tagline was, ‘Sam Cooke Reincarnated!’” he recalls. “I felt pressure. Out the gate, the expectations were high.”

But Bridges always saw himself as more of a disciple of Arthur Alexander, the lesser-known, country-soul pioneer of the ’60s, than Cooke. “His delivery was very subtle—and that’s actually what I’ve always been about,” he says. “I struggled with wanting to make it clear that [being a soul artist] doesn’t mean I have to be screaming on stage like a preacher.” As for that keeper-of-the-flame mantle, Bridges wishes we could all, well, relax: “I just want to let the music be music”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tommy Escobar

When Leon Bridges was promoting Good Thing, naturally he would look back on his debut and see how far he had come – and how he had progressed as an artist. There is a marked difference between what we hear on Good Thing and what the sound of Coming Home represented. Bridges discussed this more with CLASH in a 2018 interview:

“From Texas to the world; subsequently, his modern brand of authentic nostalgia was making waves - the debut album, ‘Coming Home’ arrived in the summer, its vintage tones proving irresistible, and Bridges found himself in demand across the board from radio, TV and the White House. After performing there at a Ray Charles tribute, Bridges was later personally endorsed by President Obama, who included Leon’s ‘Smooth Sailin’’ on his summer 2016 playlist. It was the crowning achievement of a first chapter that was frenetic and undeniably promising, yet one Bridges was committed to progress from.

“When I wrote ‘Coming Home’,” says Bridges, looking back from the vantage point of February 2018, “I felt that it was necessary to tell my narrative through that sound. I wanted to honour black music, and everybody knows that story, but that was what that was. But even at that time, I was always in love with modern R&B music, and so I had to make that decision. I didn’t want to make a ‘Coming Home Part Two’ because I knew that if I made a ‘Coming Home Part Two’ then I wouldn’t be able to gain a bigger fan base, or I’d feel like I wasn’t being true to myself if I would have made a ‘Coming Home Part Two’”.

The difference between his debut and its follow-up, ‘Good Thing’, is striking and immediate; the strapping falsetto in ’70s strings-laden opener ‘Bet Ain’t Worth The Hand’ is a remarkable departure, and stylistic surprises don’t stop coming - there’s the jazzy trip-hop of ‘Bad Bad News’, the clipped beats of ‘Lions’, and the synth-heavy pop-funk bangers ‘If It Feels Good, Then It Must Be’ and ‘You Don’t Know’, two moments certain to startle the retro fans.

“I just kinda felt this weight of expectation from the fans - a lot of my fans, they want that specific sound, and they’d be content if I made that same sound for the rest of my life,” he says of the pressures he faced when considering change, and attributes a realisation he experienced at the 2016 Grammy Awards, where he was nominated for Best R&B Album, as the catalyst for the new musical direction he’d take. Considering his fellow nominees, he noted: “I just thought to myself that I have the talent to be in the same conversations with the Brunos and the Ushers and all those guys, but still stay unique. So that was the whole motivation behind this project: how can we take the elements from the first album but evolve the sound?”

Every artist evolves between their first and second albums. Listening back to Coming Home, one can definitely detect signs that Bridges was a star. That was fully realised on the follow-up. Ahead of the release of the much-anticipated third album, Gold–Diggers Sound, we can see how Bridges has grown as a writer and performer.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sasha C.

I do wonder what the sound of Gold–Diggers Sound will be. We have heard some material from it and, from what I can tell, it is another step on from Good Thing. There are fresh directions and sounds in the mix. Coming to an interview with GQ, Bridges noted that his debut album was selling to predominantly white audiences:

“By his own admission, Bridges was a "baby" when Coming Home dropped in 2015. He was in his early twenties when he recorded it, down in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. "I was very sheltered," he says. "I wasn't in a relationship, any relationships at the time. I didn't really, um…go out and drink and all that kind of shit." In the three years since, Bridges has toured the world, been nominated for two Grammys, attended President Barack Obama's last birthday celebration at the White House—"surreal," Bridges calls it, before launching into a surprisingly excellent impression of our former president—and returned with another album, Good Thing, which is due out early this May. The new stuff shows just how much Bridges has grown up: He's debuting a new, contemporary sound, one that more accurately reflects who he's becoming. That person is more mature, more in control, and more aware of himself and the way the world sees him.

Coming Home, Bridges says, found predominantly white audiences. "It's uncomfortable live to look out into the crowd, and during my song 'Brown Skin Girl'—that's part of my patter, the whole thing is like, 'Where's my Brown Skin Girls at?'—and...there aren't any." People didn't seem to think Bridges' music was black, or black enough. "There are people who say ignorant stuff like that," he says. "Which is a crazy thing to hear." The new songs are sexier, more authentic and original and aware; Bridges explicitly changed his sound to find a more diverse audience. If you're a fan of Coming Home, you'll recognize that smoked-honey voice. The music, however, is something different—wholly modern, though visited by the ghosts of the past. You can hear a parade of Bridges' inspirations all over Good Thing: "Fuckin' Usher, Ginuwine, James Blake, Portishead, R. Kelly, Townes Van Zandt, Willie Nelson," he says”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Fumi Homma for CLASH

After the arrival and success of Good Thing, there was an upswing in Bridges’ career. He was being seen more as an individual artist. Maybe there was this learning curve between his two albums. When he spoke with the Evening Standard, Bridges looked back and critically assessed his debut record:

“Bridges was weighing up whether to invite Obama to his 30th birthday party this month in Puerto Rico when he ‘ran into his older daughter, Malia, at this bar in New York and she was like, “Oh my God — Oh my God, I really love your music, I gotta come up to a show,” and I was like, “Yeah, bring your dad!”’

It’s a typical snapshot of Bridge’s dishrags-to-riches fairy-tale story: an everyman blessed with a voice so breathtaking it lifted him from small-town Texas, washing plates in a Tex-Mex restaurant, to the White House, then round the world on continent-spanning tours. But now that it’s calm and quiet he tells me that he really misses home.

‘That’s definitely my light at the end of the tunnel during touring, that I can go home and be with my friends and family,’ he says, pointing out the various tattoos on his body: 817, the area code of his home town, Fort Worth; an outline of Texas’s state line; his mother’s name, Lisa Sawyer (also a song title), which he had inked in New Orleans.

It has been a steep learning curve. Coming Home was a revival of the 1960s soul era sung by a young, modern man from the South — but critics wondered if he could write anything more original. And so came Good Thing last year: funkier, fresher, a ‘melting pot of different sounds’. Bridges has loved touring it, but bad reviews stay with you. When he played Brixton O2 last November, a major newspaper reported ‘a chant that struck up during a jazzy section mid-gig, urging Bridges to stick to his old material’.

‘It’s like, when I was doing their first stuff, it’s like I wasn’t authentic enough, like I was biting off the soul artists from the past,’ says Bridges, who also blames technical issues for the poorly received gig. ‘Then when I try to do something a little bit different, modern and more unique, in a way, it’s like people weren’t feeling that. But, you know, if the fans didn’t f*** with new s*** they wouldn’t go to the show.’ Making ‘an unpredictable move’ was vital to ‘just have longevity in my career’, he says”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Oldham

I am mentioning sonic and career development to show how far Bridges has come. The same can be said of how he has matured and changed since Good Thing. It is important to chart and examine his steps and rise. I want to bring in this 2019 interview, as we get a snapshot of how Bridges’ music has been used on screen. This is true of songs from both of his albums. He was preparing to record songs with contemporaries from Texas: the incredible Khruangbin:

“Much has changed over the past four years. Artistically, Bridges' sophomore album, Good Thing, released last May, saw the singer-songwriter deviate slightly from the kind of finger-snapping, retro-soul nostalgia that drew the requisite Otis Redding and Sam Cooke comparisons. Still, tracks from both albums continue to prove commercially successful, with songs like "River," "Better Man," and "Beyond" making cameos on HBO's Big Little Lies, the sci-fi film Pacific Rim: Uprising, and BBC's The Graham Norton Show, respectively. That's not to mention collaborations with Kacey Musgraves, Macklemore, and Odesza, a tour with Harry Styles, and several Grammy nominations (and a win). Next up, Bridges will return to his Texan roots with the release of two tracks with Houston-based trio Khruangbin. "It's like psychedelic-gospel-R&B-'70s," he says. "That's the best way I can explain it. I'm really excited." Before taking to the stage with fellow Afropunk headliners FKA Twigs, Rico Nasty, and Gary Clark, Jr., Bridges opens up to CR MEN about his biggest influences, the importance of black-oriented music festivals, and what punk means to him”.

I wonder whether there was a conscious moment for Bridges when he changed his writing style and wrote from a different perspective. Perhaps a sense of Bridges coming out of himself and experiencing the wider world resulted in a more open second album. Coming back to that CLASH interview, Bridges noted how his life and music changed drastically in quite a short period:

“Before [all] this, I was very sheltered. I was living at my mom’s house for so long and I had never really been a drinker or partier and all that kind of stuff,” he says. “I had to hide a lot of things, because that’s the kind of environment I grew up in - a religious household. I felt that even writing simple songs about love and all that kind of stuff was not going to be accepted by my mother (the subject of ‘Lisa Sawyer’ from his debut) and the community that I was in.”

“There is more of me,” he says of the album’s character, a true reflection of his personal growth over the last three years. “Instead of writing on the surface, I’m kinda being a little bit more vulnerable with these songs.”

Which all makes for quite a seismic shift, and one that he’s all too aware may leave some disappointed classic soul fans behind - a risk he’s willing to take in the name of evolution. “When I listen to an artist, I want to be surprised by everything they put out,” he reasons. “I just want to show people that I am no longer just the underdog of R&B. I’m a diverse artist and I feel like the album definitely reflects that. I made a statement with the first album, and this is definitely another huge statement, because I feel like people definitely won’t be expecting what we’re putting out”.

I am moving things forward to properly explore Good Thing. One of the most impressive things about the album is how that there is something quite ordinary about it in terms of subject matter. It does not tackle big political matters. Given the Black Lives Matter protests recently, I wonder whether that will work its way into his Gold–Diggers Sound in some form. Bridges spoke with Esquire and talked about how, when it comes to music, everything does not have to be so deep and serious:

“If Good Thing is light on anything, then, it’s politics. Defiant lead single “Bad Bad News”’ sees Bridges stare down society’s preconceived notions of his limits, but otherwise, the set runs parallel to much of today’s conversations, never turning for an intersection. It’s not that Bridges doesn’t have his opinions—we’re living in a time of “bad leadership” he says, succinctly, before remarking that we’re also in a time of oversharing when it comes to our vitriolic stances—but it didn’t feel right here. “What do people want me to do? Write F-Trump songs? That’s not effective,” he says before cautioning, “The time will come and whenever I put that energy into a song, it’s because that’s right thing to do. It will be because I’m passionate about it.”

In fact, Bridges is, in some ways, trying to say less with his music. “It’s cool to accept that not everything has to be so deep,” he says, crediting Young Thug and Drake as masters in turning the Ordinary into Art. “It’s their own world and their own truth and they make it sound super profound,” he says. “Sometimes I feel pressure [to write high-concept lyrics], because I aspire to be like a [Bob] Dylan or a Van Morrison, but I like attacking topics that are relatable.”

That delight in the mundane works, time and time again, on Good Thing. He spools a phone call home to mom into a rapturous reckoning with a relationship’s potential on “Beyond” and considers shirking his friends’ advice and running back to an untrustworthy flame on reverb-lined “Forgive You.” And on the buoyant one-two punch of “If It Feels Good, Then It Must Be” and “You Don’t Know” he finds himself gripped with the thrill of new love and desire. But Bridges saves his best for last. On the stellar album closer “Georgia to Texas” the singer lays his origin story bare—his birth, his mother’s struggle, the hand-me-down-clothes, the lack of money—and in turn, crafts a moving testament to the power of a mother’s love”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tommy Escobar

I love Leon Bridges’ debut album - though I was more struck by the sound and production on Good Thing. In an interview with GoldPlec, Bridges was asked about the production and sonic shift on his second album. Being a more popular artist by this time, he had to consider adapting his music for bigger venues:

“Good Thing' is certainly an album with a modern production ethos. Tracks like Forgive You and Bad Bad News incorporate a broad range of contemporary sounds. While not a total departure from the vintage R&B sound, there's an undeniable hip-hop and nu-soul aesthetic to the whole production, complete with less guitar centred song structures.

Are changes were the result of a new writing approach?

"This was definitely a different approach. In the past, I've done a lot of my writing on guitar. This one was different, the producer that we worked with, he had a big library of instrumentals. Some of the stuff we worked on from scratch but a lot of it was instrumentals that he had. He'd play about 20 of them and I'd pick out the one that spoke to me most. That would be the one we'd work on that day. It started off by just creating the melody and how I wanted the phrasing to be and from there we kind of just formed the lyrics. I would say that the whole concept of the song was really just an afterthought."

One thing that hasn't changed for Bridges is the intimate quality of his material. His tracks aren't anthems, nor are they filled with huge bombastic choruses. The beauty of Bridges' music is nuanced, appreciated more and more with repeated listens. However, considering the artist's leap in popularity since his breakthrough single, he's had to fill bigger venues on tour. Bridges shared his thoughts on that transition:

"I recently hired this guy Josh Johnson and this cat Josh Thumberly on the bass. We basically reimagined everything on the album and some of the older material too. There are these moments of funk and of jazz and psychedelia. It's great”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Fumi Homma for CLASH

One thing a lot of people might not have considered when it came to Leon Bridges is how fame and new popularity would have impacted his mental welfare and life in general. He wanted his music to resonate and reach people. There are a lot of pressures and bad sides that come with that new attention. Coming back to the interview with the Evening Standard, we find out how newfound fame challenged Bridges:

“He was just 25, from a city with a population of less than 900,000. Suddenly, he was the centre of attention, and ‘everything from feeling inadequate in a way, to feeling I’m not a good enough singer, or songwriter, or handsome enough. All that s*** played into my depression.’ He couldn’t stand ‘billions of photos being taken’, he worried he wasn’t ‘smart enough to come across as articulate’.

He drank more. ‘I wouldn’t call myself an alcoholic, but, like, for me, I couldn’t perform without drinking because it made me less self-aware when I was on stage. It was just one of those things that, with the lifestyle, was just so easy, like, to drink every day. When I was out it was usually five to 10 shots, a beer, and that was happening every day. Maybe a couple of shots before the show, then after the show, more drinking. Then when I’m at home, more. So I made new rules when I was like, okay, don’t drink during the week’”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel King for Esquire

I want to change gears and highlight something that defines Bridges in a way: his unique style and his extraordinary fashion! Befitting of someone who is a bit of an idol, he is the complete package. Not only is his music full of personality and different layers; the same can be said of his looks. Bridges is authentic when it comes to his fashion choices. As he explained to GQ (in the interview I sourced from earlier), there were some doubters to start off with:

“People have a history of thinking the things that Leon Bridges says and does aren't quite real. Take, for example, his style. "Coming out the gate, it kinda seemed like it was something that was fake and put together, because people don't normally see guys dressed like this," Bridges says. His look mashes up vintage pieces with things sourced from the '80s and '90s—he's got a freewheeling, omnivorous vibe. "I think people now are seeing that it's authentic," Bridges finishes. His inspirations run deep: The singer was moved to start dressing the way he does after he discovered Street Etiquette, the avant-garde style blog founded and run by Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs. "Like, I had never seen black men dress in that way," he says, meaning Kissi's and Gumbs' signature vintage-prep looks. "And also being a dancer. Back when I was studying dance in college, we would have to perform certain pieces, and so I was exposed to just a whole bunch of vintage styles and all that kind of stuff." As with his music, these days Bridges has found slightly more contemporary influences. "This cat named Tito Deller, he's from here. My friend Barrio Dandy out in L.A. I mean, I even fuck with A$AP Rocky's thing. I love the whole kind of nineties comeback as well," he says”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan Lowry for GQ

Leon Bridges recently spoke with W Magazine. Not only has it been hard to showcase music because of the pandemic. Bridges has not been on stage and rocking his different looks! That will change soon. In the interview, one can tell that Bridges has been frustrated by the pandemic and the limitations:

“You’re known for having a very strong and unique sense of style. How do you feel about getting dressed for public life again?

Man, that’s been a crazy thing about the pandemic—I haven’t really gotten to showcase the fashion. I’ve been ordering a lot of stuff. I’m trying to figure out what will look good onstage when I start touring again. I’ve recently been inspired by the ’70s. I always love something funkadelic, and I’ve transitioned into wearing more flared jeans. But I’ve also been doing a lot of monochrome, specifically all black”.

I am going to Why Don’t You Touch Me in a minute. I wanted to lead up to the song by presenting a bigger picture. Rather than leaping straight in, it is important learn more about Leon bridges and his story. It is clear that he is a fascinating artist who has transformed and grown since 2015’s Coming Home. There is going to be a lot of anticipation ahead of the release of Gold–Diggers Sound.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Wilson

I think the music has grown bigger and more ambitious since Good News. That is reflected in the videos. Bridges has always released great videos, though there is something more cinematic and grander about them now. This can be seen in Why Don’t You Touch Me. In the first part of the video – whether the second part will have a completely different concept/scope has yet to be seen -, we start on a shot of a building that says ‘Gold Diggers Entertainment’ on it. A woman is outside smoking. We pan in on her as the camera tracks to the right where a man can be seen by a window looking pensive. It then pans back to the woman who throws her cigarette off the balcony and walks out of shot (and inside of the building). Even before the song kicks in, there is this intrigue and sense of tension. I feel the promotions for the singles on his new albums are more filmic and different to what he offered before. It seems that the video concept is this romance that is quite complex. We see black-and-white and colour shots of the lead actors, Alisha Boe and Jermaine Fowler (the video also features JJ (Joshua John), Joshua Crumley, Bill Malina, Nate Mercereau, Ricky Reed). The two leads are shot in black-and-white as they are chatting in a bar. Bridges is in colour as he can be seen on his own. He looks quite distracted and tense. Getting to the music, and there is a simplicity and soulfulness that hooks you in. We get a heartbeat percussion and a gentle electric guitar strum that perfectly accompanies Bridges’ silky and powerful voice. There is longing and questions from Bridges. In the first verse, it seems as though he has been cast aside: “I've been feeling way too undesired/Before the flame went out, all around us was all on fire/I can feel the distance go for miles/But cold is all you are, and it's causing chills/What's with all this?/You won't even talk about it”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alisha Boe

Whether the video represents a love triangle or not, I am not sure. The leads are vibing in a bar and there seems to be this natural chemistry. Our hero is left alone and he is trying to piece things together. Perhaps things used to be good but, as she has found someone new, it might be coming to an end. Although Bridges does not mention cheating and the relationship being over, one gets a sense from the video that that might be the case. Bridges is definitely looking for answers and clarity: “Can you be honest?/Is you just running out of thrills?/'Cause every time you put me second, yeah/Girl, make me feel wanted/Don't leave me out here unfulfilled/'Cause we're slowly getting disconnected, yeah”. In the video, the heroine can be seen (in colour) walking from an apartment in tears. Whether she has had a difficult conversation with Bridges or another man, I cannot tell. Things are definitely complex. Although our hero is trying his best to impress her, it seems like she has someone else on her mind: “If you still in love all like you say it/Then why don't you touch me? Yeah/I'm dressing to the nines and your eye's straying/Oh, why don't you touch me? Yeah/Why don't, why don't, why don't, yeah, yeah”. Bridges and Jermaine Fowler can be seen outside smoking together. Perhaps they are friends or unaware that they are with the same woman. Alisha Boe is in the bar as she approaches Bridges. There are these shots between the bar and outside to provide this sense of urgency and developing story. It is like a tense film where revelations are about to be revealed. Boe and Bridges are clearly emotional in each other’s company.

It seems that their once-solid bond has been affected. “It's been so hard to stay close/If there's a problem, say so/Tell me why you never touch me no more/Maybe I've been too possessive/Maybe I get too aggressive/Maybe 'cause I bring up what we should've deaded/Hard to be real, but don't deny what you can't feel, girl/Maybe I just need attention/Maybe I'm not new enough to stay in love and so it's ending/Tell me it ain't ending, babe”. Bridges voice is gorgeous throughout! There is so much emotion to be discovered. He is putting his heart out there and feels genuinely moved. The video is wonderfully shot. Again, Bridges is seen alone as the two (new?) lovers meet on a rooftop. I think that the second version of the video might well push the story forward. Maybe it will be told from a different viewpoint and story arc. The truth become clearer as Bridges is on a bed alone and we see flashes of the Boe and Fowler kissing. It is heartbreaking that the visuals tell us that things are over. They play over words that suggest Bridges is trying to keep the relationship alive – even though he suspects that it might be futile: “Can you be honest?/Is you just running out of thrills?/'Cause every time you put me second, yeah/Girl, make me feel wanted/Don't leave me out here unfulfilled/'Cause we're slowly getting disconnected, yeah”. I wonder whether the ending of the second video might be different. In this one, it appears there may be a twist in the tail. We see Boe and Fowler together. The heroine wakes and leaves him alone in bed. There is a great shot of the two floating in the air as their fingers slip from one another. The heroine is walking away and ends up in the shot that we saw at the very start: her on the balcony smoking as her man is at the window. It is a great loop that you do not see coming! At the start of the video, we do not know who these characters are. We have this story that unfolds and ends. It is testament to the direction of Jackson Tisi. Why Don’t You Touch Me is a beautiful song and a very impressive song from Bridges. I think the video adds new elements. It is such an engrossing and stylish video with wonderful performances!

PHOTO CREDIT: Nate Ryan/NPR

Not long now until we receive a new album from Leon Bridges. I am especially looking forward. In that interview from Under the Radar that I started out with, Bridges revealed the importance of continuingly moving in terms of his sound and direction:

“Let’s talk about the new album! It’s funny, we’ve talked about you being a subtle person, measured. And that’s how the new album is, in a way, too. There aren’t super high peaks and super low lows. So, what was the genesis of the new record and how did you go about crafting it?

So, I would say the inception of this album started with me sitting down with my good friend and producer, Ricky Reed, and we just talked about the success of my album, Good Thing. We talked about the direction I wanted to head. At that time, I saw that if I was to continue making retro music, essentially, then I would just continue to stay stagnant. I could have a good career doing that but I understood from a standpoint that I would have just hit a peak only doing retro music.

But at the same time I understood that my artistry is diverse and there are so many different influences in there. So, I really wanted to showcase that in this new album and so we felt the only way to unlock that was to create this fully immersive recording experience and invite some of the dopest musicians and writer friends to help cultivate this R&B style that was unique to me. So, the whole concept behind this album is basically like pushing my sound forward, pushing the envelope while still having those organic elements in there.

Because I want to be in the same conversations with some of my R&B counterparts, as well. I felt like how some people say, “He’s slept on.” I just felt like—basically, I want to create music that puts me in front of more people while still doing something that’s authentic”.

When you close your eyes and think about the future, what comes to mind?

I foresee for myself, I think I ultimately want to chill out a bit. At this point, I have at least three projects that are essentially done. Next year, I’ll be releasing another EP. I made some music in Nashville. So, Gold-Diggers Sound, it’s a great album but it’s totally not indicative of what the future me-style is going to be. I’m going to continue to experiment and redefine my art as I progress on this journey”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tommy Escobar

Just before closing things off, there is one more interview that is worth bringing in. Going back to W Magazine, they asked Bridges how the third album would be received by his fans:

“You have a new album coming out soon. Anything you can share about how it will sound?

The new project is titled Gold-Diggers Sound. Gold-Diggers is this unassuming little compound in East Hollywood. It’s kind of in a gnarly neighborhood, but on the inside, it’s a beautiful place. It’s like a hotel, a studio, and a dive bar. I wanted a sound that was R&B, but unique to me. We felt the only way to achieve that was to create a fully immersive experience, so I essentially lived at this place, and I think we were able to find that. There’s understated jazz, there’s more guitar-prominent songs, but it’s definitely more of an R&B-centric album.

How do you think listeners will react to this next phase of your music development?

I’m kind of challenging my fans, because a lot of times artists can be put in the confines of a certain genre, and it can be hard for fans to accept that evolution and growth. And so I just want them to accept the direction that I’m going in. That’s the thing—I always want to stay unpredictable. I don’t think people are going to see this coming, but I think they’re going to love it”.

It has been great reviewing Why Don’t You Touch Me. The first part of the video has been released. I am looking forward to the second part of it! Go and pre-order Gold–Diggers Sound. It is going to be a wonderfully captivating and memorable album from…