Rag’n’Bone Man ★★★★ Life By Misadventure COLUMBIA. CD/DL/LP/MC

Rory Graham’s second LP. Not like the first. At all.

One of the more intriguing aspects of Human, the ragbag first Rag’n’Bone Man album, was how to follow it. Rory Graham ticked a multitude of boxes – Hozier wannabe, more earthy Gregory Porter, gospelloving soul-blues growler, Americana maven, countrytinged rapper – all without sounding especially derivative. Admirably, in the wake of marital separation (addressed only in the unblinking Talking To Myself) he’s taken the nuclear option, relocating to write and record in Nashville with his usual British band and a gaggle of crack sessioneers, including Prince sidekick Wendy Melvoin. Toning down the gospel-soul inflections, he’s less scattergun and easier to pin down (a British Ray LaMontagne isn’t too wide of the mark). More crucially, Graham’s songwriting has blossomed, be it on the pounding All You Ever Wanted or the more ruminative Alone. All things being equal, he’s heading to the major leagues.

John Aizlewood