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A.D. AMOROSI
Khruangbin + Leon Bridges HHH Texas Sun Dead Oceans Raw silken R&B vocalist Leon Bridges and the twisty, turn-y psychedelic rock-funk instrumentalists of Khruangbin toured as one package last year as a show of unity of Texan soul makers. Fort Worth’s Bridges has always been a little bit buttoned up—a modern-day Sam Cooke if ever there was—even though, by the end of his 2018 sophomore effort, Good Thing, Bridges loosens up for a dazz-dusic-disco-jam vocal workout. Speaking of jam, Houston’s Khruangbin is a psilocybin power trio, what the Grateful
gives the band a much needed blunt punctuation on the chugging, blissful title track, and the vocalist some genuine cojones and rough swagger on the elastic “Conversion.” While the sloe gin-swigging, sauntering ballad “Midnight” sounds the most like your usual Bridges ranch stash—some late 60s’ rhythmic and melodic touches here, some noir soul between the sheets, some lyrics about driving while holding his sweetheart there, “CSide”—the best song on the too short EP—comes across like vintage Khruangbin: all swirly and exotic with malleted grooves, off-pulse cowbell and a funky, funhouse atmosphere that’s the sonic equivalent of Orson Welles’ The Lady from Shanghai. Here’s to a further expansion of this pairings’ brand of Texas tea. Sergio Mendes HHHH In The Key Of Joy Concord At 78, Brazilian-born pianist, composer, and arranger Sergio Mendes just might be ready for his close up. Don’t get me wrong. Since moving from the service to his mentor, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and bringing jazzy bossa nova into 1960s AM radio pop prominence and consciousness, Mendes has forever been a face for Brazil’s breezily sophisticated sound. He was ubiquitous; you couldn’t avoid seeing his big eyes, snazzy suits, and Brasil ’66 ensemble, or hear his smooth ethnic rhythms and chord changes. Mendes is the samba-tinged, cosmopolitan equivalent of Bacharach, Brian Wilson and The Beatles. Past the 1960s, Mendes contin-
Dead would have sounded like if boiled down to Cream-like essentials. The right-tight, but still way loose Khruangbin—guitarist Mark Speer, bassist Laura Lee, drummer Donald Johnson—create a hypnotic sonic (water) bed for a vocalist to loll and spin upon. This is a neat trick as it’s something the flowery power trio has never attempted. That the singer is Bridges 30
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ued to make his mark, particularly with his neo-soul/hip hop-filled Timeless of 2006, a 2012 Best Song Oscar nomination for “Real in Rio” from the animated film Rio, and his breakthrough hit “Mas Que Nada.” In The Key Of Joy, a fresh documentary from director John Scheinfeld (renowned for Chasing Trane), will bring the savvy Mendes into current focus, as will a double album of the same name. While the second disc features radiofriendly Brasil ’66 hits of yore—the pretty and pensively syncopated “The Look of Love,” and the hushed, rushing “The Frog”—the first disc is as new and nuanced as its inspiration and will feel familiar to fans. It’s a weird start as “Sabor Do Rio” and the collection’s title tune play host to oddly rigid Chicago rappers Common and Buddy, respectively. Perhaps welcoming MCs whose voices were more fluid and whose lyrics felt fresher would’ve allowed each song a freer vibe. Yet, the basis of each track’s buoyancy and its merry carnival mien stem from the literal squeaks, bells, whistles, undulating indigenous percussive rolls, and the plush choral blend of female voices that have made Mendes famous. n
