Music

Rag N’ Bone Man

O2 ABC, Glasgow

Jonathan Geddes

three stars

IN RECENT years the Critic’s Choice prize at the Brits has become a musical shorthand, indicating acts poppy enough for Radio 1 while authentic enough for Radio 2. This year’s winner, Rag 'N’ Bone Man (aka Rory Graham), has got more to him than the likes of James Bay or Tom Odell, for which we should be extremely thankful, but there were a few doubts here too.

Graham’s songs possess such angst you suspect he spends his spare time brooding on shadowy rooftops, however as a performer he is a cheerful, bright figure. Built like a rugby prop and with a beaming smile throughout, the set conveyed a love of soul and blues (it was bookended by blues covers) with mild rapping and some pop, focused around a raw, wounded voice of indisputable power.

Human, his breakthrough hit, was performed with substantial weight, greeted by an array of mobile phones wobbling in the air, but some of the night’s starker moments worked best, including the resounding, hymnal Lay My Body Down, or the personal simplicity of Odetta, written about a friend’s daughter.

These let Graham deal out legitimate emotion, but the lengthy set couldn’t rely entirely on that. As a pop singer he was less convincing, and several arrangements, such as the unconvincing soul-pop of Ego or polished Fade To Nothing, were banal, while piano ballad Skin felt like an overwrought male take on Adele.

He also faced the sold out crowd occasionally chattering away during quieter moments, an issue that will grow as the venues get bigger. That will be hard to resolve, but you hope he can find more of a consistent musical spark, and balance that striking voice with equally interesting tunes.