Associate Music Supervisor, Ruben Lira, spent a lot of time reflecting on his favorite album of the year. And this year, his selection goes beyond just the music: it also connect with him on a personal level. Check out his pick for top album of 2018: Leon Bridges’ Good Thing.
There are albums that are enjoyable, playful, and thought-provoking. And then there are albums that take this one step further, and connect with you on a deeper level. These are the albums that you embrace and claim to yourself, as your songs to the world; and this is one of those albums for me. Leon Bridges’ Good Thing veers into multiple emotions, in a style which is just not done enough today. From vintage R&B, to Jazz, to vintage soul of the Motown days, Good Thing traverses all these genres in fluidity not done enough in today’s music-scape. From celebrating life, to telling the struggles we all encounter in our daily lives, Good Thing is best heard as an antidote to the daily ups and downs of life.
On a personal level, this album was both a lifeline and break into my day with the many changes all around, and with life experiences coming through. This album was a soundtrack to my days: through sleepless nights holding my new-born son, to those beautiful northwest days with the sun shining bright. It brought me back to my Texas roots of enjoying the dawn while sitting in a rocking chair holding my new-born daughter. It was the album playing as I danced around the house with my oldest daughter, slowly passing through the day with no care in the world. This album signified change, but hope through the hardest of days.
Good Thing is the thread that added an allure to these special moments of the year, and allowed me to cherish my family, and to know that no matter the time, hope is on the horizon. Whenever I need to get a remembrance of my life in Texas, Leon Bridges, brings me back to those wonderful days growing up in Fort Worth. You see, this is what an album should be; a vortex of emotions, sincerity, yet fun in one album. You lay the record on your player, and just embrace your family and shed a tear for the light of hope upon the horizon.
Artist: Leon Bridges
Track: Georgia to Texas
Album: Good Thing
Twitter: @leonbridges
