Scene and Heard – CCCXLV : The Perfect Human Being –  Joey The Bull (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

In difficult and emotional times it can often be hard to process the hand that life deals you, the reality of situations can be overwhelming. Everyone approaches things differently, you do what you have to do to get through. Often you can better focus your thoughts by writing them down, or in the case of Joey The Bull, turning them into the lyrics of a song. The Perfect Human Being is therefor a letter to his mother, a dedication and an outpouring of emotion but one more focused and orderly due to the time spent collecting that wave of emotion and thoughts into a more logical arrangement. It is a confessional, a prayer even, a list of questions, ones that require no answer, it is just enough that they have been asked out loud. Maybe the universe listens to use, maybe it is just enough to hear yourself say what you feel. The answer probably lies somewhere between the two.

Musically The Perfect Human Being references old school hip-hop but rather than follow those pioneers down their often confrontational and challenging path, it laces those same beats and sonic building blocks with a passion, ultimate soul searching and a musical melancholy that was rarely present in those formative years. Classical strings add a musical elegance to this familiar urban sound, softens the edges and tugs at the heartstrings of the listener, the lyrics deliver an eloquence that is a mile above the usual self-aggrandisement and gangster stance of the rest of pack.

The Perfect Human Being is that rarest of songs, one that is written from a totally personal place but which is so universally relatable that it goes beyond the one to one conversation that it at first seems to be. Despite its intimate nature there are moments when you forget that this is a personally penned message and hear phrases and words that relate to your own and indeed everyones life. Music is made for a myriad of reasons, from the throw-away to the memorable, the universal to the intimate. But it is at its most powerful, most poignant, most relevant when it comes from the heart. Joey The Bull writes not only from his heart but from the very depths of his soul. Maybe that is when the healing can begin.