Rag'n'Bone Man at Village Underground, gig review: Brilliant nods to classic gospel and swampy blues

Anyone with ears can hear that this guy has an incredible voice

(Press image)

There’s a buzz building around Rag'n'Bone man that only looks set to grow as 2016 rumbles on.

Following a raved-about set at The Great Escape, the Brighton-raised artist, born Rory Graham, is playing a sold-out show at Village Underground in London - he strides onto the stage and gets right down to it.

Opener 'Wolves' immediately showcases Graham’s incredible presence - it’s difficult to take your eyes off him as he belts out a note that reverberates down to your toes.

He tends to fall back on one-liners in his choruses - as catchy as they are you feel like he could easily pull out something with more substance - because he definitely has skill as a songwriter as well as a vocalist.

On 'Hell Yeah' there are brilliant nods to classic gospel and swampy blues thanks to his backing vocalists and the song’s themes of the devil, hell and salvation, only made more dramatic by the lights that flood the stage in a bloody shade of red, while his hip hop influences seem to stem from the likes of Nas and D'Angelo when he sings 'Put That Soul On Me'.

While he seems a little shy as he thanks the audience, the moment he begins singing there’s a burst of irrepressible attitude. Occasionally it feels as though he’s overdoing it; it’s clear to anyone with ears that this guy has a phenomenal voice, but it wouldn’t hurt him to hold back on occasions.

Rag'n'Bone Man is big in every sense of the word, but if his trajectory continues at the rate it’s going now, he could be huge.