Drag and moan man…
[Video]
[3.14]
[4]
Olivia Rafferty: I guess we had to have a placeholder while Sam Smith dipped out to write a new album or discover the existence of racism, whatever he’s up to.
[4]
Micha Cavaseno: Soulful-sounding, earthy DUDES do something to people where they seem elevating and spiritual. To me, this ends up sounding like lesser Sam Smith. All the production reads of an “inspirational” Eminem single and the lyrics here are innocuous as hell. At least when Aloe Blacc made sell-out soul that meant nothing; he was doing it for the purpose of getting that movie soundtrack. This kid is really being told he’s a star.
[3]
Crystal Leww: When BBC Sound Of was announced, I knew it was inevitable that Rag ‘n’ Bone Man gets to be big — after all, there is a market for “soulful” music that is made by white British folks. “Skin” is all about the signifiers for heart and soul — voice desperately trying to reach for meaning, that choir, the swelling production, and lyrics that reference time, love, and surrender. But there’s nothing specific here to show that Rag ‘n’ Bone Man has an artistic vision beyond reading the article for Blues on Wikipedia and listening to a BB King song once. This is boring and will undoubtedly make a lot of money.
[3]
Iain Mew: There’s a bit of the British music industry, the bit that gets Jack Garratt and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man to Critics’ Choice Brit Awards and high placings in the Sound Of list, that has been precisely iterating its way to an ideal. You can see it just by looking at the two of them, but “Skin” takes it a step further by taking large bits of melody from Garratt’s single “Breathe Life,” while ditching its interesting production elements, replaced by the bluster of James Bay — another predecessor in the role. The iteration has worked, too, with Rag’n’Bone Man releasing the UK’s fastest-selling debut album by a male artist this decade. It’s just unfortunate if you’re seeking more from pop than empty signifiers of strong and stable musicianship.
[3]
David Sheffieck: I am usually all for melodrama and excess in pop music, but there are limits. Here is a short list of elements in “Skin” that go too far — dropping any two would give the song a chance at hitting the right level of too-muchness: 1) the drama class over-emoting of the vocal; 2) the inexplicable 808 flourishes; 3) the choral backing that was accidentally triggered too early and left running too long; 4) the somber piano that indicates Seriousness Pop is being made; 5) the bouncy Sesame Street chirp of the organ deeper in the mix; 6) the name “Rag ‘n’ Bone Man.”
[3]
Jonathan Bradley: More portentous than a Hollywood fantasy blockbuster and twice as glossy. If you’re gonna be this silly, give us high drama, not your best Wobbly Voice of Emotive Seriousness.
[2]