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Leon Bridges Announces 'Good Thing' With 2 New Songs

Leon Bridges' new album <em>Good Thing</em> is due out May 4.
Jack McKain
/
Courtesy of the artist
Leon Bridges' new album Good Thing is due out May 4.

Soul music savant Leon Bridges has announced a new album, Good Thing, and with it, two new tracks.

On "Bet Ain't Worth the Hand" — a beautiful heartache ballad reminiscent of The Temptations — Bridges takes a gamble on ending his relationship with a loved one. "Maybe I'm leavin' / Leavin' here with nothin' / I might regret that I can't be your man / Sometimes the bet isn't worth the hand," Bridges belts.

Bridges' vocals dance atop a bouncy bass line on "Bad Bad News" with unruly horns and tell a story of triumph. "They tell me I was born to lose / But I made a good good thing out of bad bad news," he sings.

The 28-year-old soul singer first found mainstream success in 2015 with his hit single, "Coming Home" and debut album of the same name. He's said in the past that he never intendedto write soul music, but his connection to Golden Era gospel and silky, vintage tone suggest otherwise.

Though Bridges has drawn comparisons to Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke, the millennial artist has spent his time in between albums making surprising collaborations with those outside of his designated genre. Bridges has toured with pop dreamboat Harry Styles and has been featured on tracks with rapper Lecrae and EDM duo ODESZA.


Good Thing is avaialable May 4 via Columbia Records

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Sidney Madden is a reporter and editor for NPR Music. As someone who always gravitated towards the artforms of music, prose and dance to communicate, Madden entered the world of music journalism as a means to authentically marry her passions and platform marginalized voices who do the same.