Review: Rag’n’Bone Man – Human

One of the biggest breakthrough artists coming out of the UK in 2016, Rag’n’Bone Man seemed to thunder onto the scene from out of nowhere with last year’s hit single “Human”, the hugely popular track after which his just-released album is named. In reality, Rag’n’Bone Man, aka Rory Graham, has been in the scene for the past 15 years, honing his sound and building his repertoire in shows and festivals in his home base of Brighton and beyond. His extra-long, 19-song album Human reads like a heartfelt tribute to the varied musical influences that have helped shape Graham into the artist that he is today. With an altogether distinctive voice that belies his age, a gritty emotional depth that seems to come from more than one lifetime of experience, and a versatility that is somehow continuously surprising, the 32-year-old, self-taught singer and songwriter and winner of this year’s Brits Critics’ Choice Award is just getting started.

Citing a mother and father with “really great taste in music” who raised him on the sounds of John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, and Muddy Waters, Graham grew up in East Sussex County in the south of England, spitting verses with hip-hop crews at underground jungle shows and supporting touring rap artists like Pharoahe Monch, Slum Village, and KRS-One. Encouraged one night by his father to try his hand at singing the blues, Graham grabbed the mic at a jam session to rave reviews, and a voice was discovered. Three EPs and a smash hit single later, he is poised to take on the world with his first full-length album interpreting the North American sounds of blues, funk, soul, gospel, hip-hop, and R&B.

With his big, bearded, tattooed presence, Graham may look like the kind of guy you wouldn’t want to have any misunderstandings with, but the only truly intimidating thing about this gentle giant is his voice. At times belting and booming like a furious, category 4 hurricane touching land, at other times softly caressing like the cool breeze coming out of nowhere through a window on a sweltering summer night – but always dripping with the kind of thick emotion that you have to practically wipe off after listening.

Title track “Human” is a hand-clapping, foot-stomping, gospel-backed, heartfelt plea for compassion and understanding that spotlights Graham’s ferocious, growling voice straight away, and deserves the gold and platinum labels it has earned throughout Europe. “Skin” has a similar gospel-fueled intensity and broad pop appeal. But if you buy the album expecting all of it to be more of the same, you’ll either be disappointed or pleasantly surprised. More than melancholy, “Love You Any Less” is straight up sad, with weeping strings and somber piano, but sweetly fortifying lyrics. “Grace” sounds like Graham and John Legend hang out and jam on Sunday afternoons together. As a matter of fact, a duet with Graham and Legend singing “Grace” side by side would be epic. The acappella “Die Easy” will have you double-checking the album art to get a better look at the man behind that incredible voice, while contemplating rum, and/or the devil, and/or death. We finally get a tiny taste of Graham’s skills as an emcee on “Ego” and “The Fire”, but given his history with and love of hip-hop, it seems a bit inadequate, like not enough salt in the soup. True to the tattoos gracing Graham’s knuckles, soul and funk are integral to his modern vintage sound, and are front and center in “Arrow” and “Your Way Or The Rope”.

Hardly a traditionalist, blues, soul, funk, or R&B purists may not appreciate the mash-up of styles that Graham brings to the table. Then again, innovation rarely comes from coloring inside of the lines, and the music of Rag’n’Bone Man is a compelling kaleidoscopic adventure in genre that could care less about rules and lines drawn. One could possibly argue that the album is slightly too structured, a little too produced, and even in some ways constrained. With Human listeners get a highly enjoyable taste of what Graham can do, but there is a nagging sense that he is holding back (or being held back) from what he is truly capable of. We don’t get the satisfied feeling that Graham is living up to his full potential, although perhaps Rag’n’Bone Man is simply a dish best served hot and live. Or maybe we just have to be patient as Graham makes the move from small-town diamond in the rough and comes into his own on the international stage.

 
Written by Katherine Rae

Katherine Rae is a German-born, California-raised, Berlin-based writer with a penchant for excessive hyphenation and an overall tendency to abuse the rules of punctuation.

 
Author’s rating for Human

Pop Magazine’s official rating for Human

Rating key
MASTERPIECE a must-have
SUPERB for heavy rotation
EXCELLENT a great achievement
VERY GOOD a respectable result
GOOD worth checking out
FAIR an average outcome
WEAK not convincing stuff
BAD an underwhelming effort
VERY BAD quite a waste
FAIL a total failure