Rag’n’Bone Man – What Do You Believe In?

Pop | Soul

56%

 

Being a fan of an artist can mean two very different things depending on how invested in music you are. For the music obsessive, being a fan can be taken to mean you own a few of their albums, you actively choose to listen to their music on a regular basis, and would make a point of seeing them live if they were going on tour. For someone who engages with music on a more casual basis, being a fan carries less commitment. Perhaps you like a couple of songs and would absolutely turn them up if they came on the radio. Perhaps you’d make an effort to see the artist at a festival if they happened to be playing. Of course, even as a music obsessive, not every act will hold the same level of appreciation to you. There will still be acts that you are a fan of in the casual sense. But compared to the love you have for your favourite acts, just liking a handful of songs sometimes feels like hardly being a “fan” at all. 

I’ve definitely shifted from one kind of fan to the other over the years when it comes to Rag’n’Bone Man. I loved the gritty blues and dark soul of his early EPs. Practically every playlist I made in the early days of Belwood featured at least one of his songs, and a big part of why I went to my first proper festival was because he was playing. I was so chuffed to see him make it big and break into the mainstream, but over the years the mainstream has had its way with him. Every subsequent record feels a little more safe and polished than the one before. Honestly, the Radio 2-ification of the musical talent in this country needs to be studied. So many promising new acts have their sound softened and smoothed to fit the mould. Raw talent being tamed and losing so much of its spirit. Something is lost by aiming for the broadest possible demographic, and the pristine production shrouds so much character in a way that feels unsatisfying and impersonal. The rough edges of Rory’s bewitching baritone are a big part of what drew me to his music, those imperfections just felt so much more human (no pun intended) than what’s on offer here. 

Besides the odd song which ends up standing out for all the wrong reasons, like the electronic beats of ‘Iron’, most of What Do You Believe In? sadly consists of forgettable filler tracks. Moments that don’t necessarily put a foot wrong, but still pass by generating the barest ripple of interest. Or in the case of ‘Feeding All These Fires’ and ‘Put A Little Hurt On Me’, end up feeling like undeveloped ideas not quite living up to their potential. When making notes on the record I found I had next to nothing to say about half the track list. ‘All I Know’ and ‘Rush of Blood’ are at least noteworthy as a virtue of being odd. Both tracks lean far harder into pop territory. They manage to shake things up by changing station from Radio 2 to Radio 1; both tracks end up feeling like Dua Lipa covers straight from the Live Lounge. While they both feel a little out of place, the latter actually does pull off this shift in sound surprisingly well thanks to its earworm chorus. 

‘Pocket’ also certainly delivers on the hook front. I’ve had its chorus stuck in my head for days on end. Yet for my money the album’s greatest highlights are the title track and ‘Chokehold’. It’s here that we’re treated to the old-school grit I’ve been longing for. Full of power, passion and a healthy heaping of soul, these tracks put Rory’s phenomenal vocals squarely in the spotlight. What I’d give for this to be the norm rather than the exception. It does at least provide What Do You Believe In? with something worth returning for. I remain a fan of Rag’n’Bone Man in as much as I respect his incredible talent and potential, and will keep on rooting for him to make the great record I know he has in him – but I remain frustrated at how that record seems to drift further and further away with each new release.