Michael Kiwanuka - 'Kiwanuka'

Michael Kiwanuka started his career as a session musician providing the rhythm for acts such as; Chipmunk and Bashy. After this he pursued a solo career spawning four EPs: Tell Me A Tale EP (2011), iTunes Festival: London 2011 (2011), I'm Getting Ready EP (2011) and You've Got Nothing To Lose (2014) as well as three studio albums: Home Again (2012), Love & Hate (2016) and Kiwanuka (2019).

1. You Ain't The Problem

'You Ain't The Problem' kicks off the album, displaying a bubble sounding intro, soon breaking out into a open recorded sound (tracks recorded in an open room with a microphone in the middle), this is very good at giving the track an old school, more classic feeling. Soft strummed guitars fill provide a soft backing to the drums. The vocals are slightly affected again adding to the old school feeling. The drum track stays fairly consistent throughout the track allowing the guitars and bass to change the sound. The track ends with a fade out whilst maintaining the main motif before turning to synth piano and reverbed synths. A big way to start the record, with a big, thumping and upbeat song.

2. Rolling

The old school drums, guitars and bass sounds continue on 'Rolling.' The vocal do a lot more to showcase Michaels abilities with more notes and sustained notes used. A fairly harsh guitar lead can be heard throughout breaking up the soft sound. Verses consist of bass, drums and vocals for the first half, then expanding to include guitars and even backing vocals towards the end. Being under three minutes long, 'Rolling' is one of the shorter tracks on the record.

3. I've Been Dazed

'I've Been Dazed' starts with an effected, sort of ethereal guitar passage which is soon accompanied by Michaels soft, full vocals again showing his ability to change his tone and ability depending on what the song requires. The drums on this track are very soft and quiet, almost being entirely drowned out by the guitar, guitar lead and vocals. Even when the vocals pick up in volume and introduce gang backing vocals (also choirlike) the drums remains soft and the guitar rhythm stays the same. 'I've Been Dazed' is certainly one of the softer tracks, also introducing swelling strings behind the guitars to add to the atmospherics. It ends on a simple sustained string which rounds off a welcomed softer track.

4&5. Piano Joint (Intro & This Kind Of Love)

The intro (track 4) consists mainly of grand piano, a heartbeat like drum and female backing vocals. Very much like how a Jazz session might begin. Towards the end of the Intro deep male vocals are prominent. The track blends seamlessly into track five 'Piano Join (This Kind of Love)'. It almost seems as the were recorded as one track and then split apart at a later date. Track five begins with the piano becoming more prominent and placed at the front of the mix alongside strong and smooth vocals from Michael. The chorus also gives us a glimpse into the higher and louder sustained note Michael is able to produce, as the piano is joined my high strings to provide melody. After this first chorus is when the drums and bass are introduced. The drums again being quiet and being quite Jazz-esque. A stand out track for sure and has potential to be a fan favourite.

6. Another Human Being

'Another Human Being' is the shortest track on the album (excluding 'Intros') at under two minutes and consists of an oriental sounding guitar and piano motif before ending with a swelling synth and a pitch shifted vocal and ending with a gunshot and an old voice recording about violence.

7. Living In Denial

'Living In Denial' brings us back to the old school feel with slow and warm sounding drums and a bass riff that sounds like it could have come from an upright bass. Backing vocals and the horns make a return to add to the composition. The Jazz influences are very prominent in this track. Not so much through the vocals or guitars, but mainly through the rhythm section of bass and drums.

8&9. Hero (Intro) & Hero

Track eight 'Hero (Intro)' consists of acoustic guitars and effected vocals with a sort of flanged or reverb effect. This swiftly changes into track nine 'Hero' where strummed guitars become the main focus point before Michael comes in with vocals lines including 'My Hero' and 'My Hero now.' The drums and bass in this track follow a more traditional rock rhythm and sound whilst the strummed guitars remain constant throughout, only occasionally being added to by a sharp, twangy lead. Another well thought out and produce track. But not entirely sure if the 'Intro' was necessary.

10. Hard To Say Goodbye

Track 10 gives us 'Hard To Say Goodbye,' by far the longest track on the record at over seven minutes! It starts with a string and muffled drum and bass passage before a muffled guitar provides a melody to the track. Choir harmonic vocals enter, following the guitar patterns creating a rounded and movie like feel. This is quickly replaced with acoustic guitars and Michaels softer vocals. 'Hard to Say Goodbye' radiates very chilled, calm vibes throughout, possibly something you would listen to on holiday. At times the lead guitar passages can be quite grating and shrill when compared to the calm feel of the rest of the track. The track constantly balances building up to a powerful track, only to swiftly break this back down to what was heard in the intro. The track alternated between chorus and verse, with an unfortunately small amount of variation in the composition, only to end as the track opened.

11. Final Days

'Final Days' already feels fresher right after listening to track 10 'Hard To Say Goodbye.' 'Final Days' is built slowly beginning with piano and a beatboxed drum only to add a funk drum rhythm whilst the pianos and guitars continue. Vocals are still soft, however experiment with Michael's higher register. Strings make another appearance, adding to the romantic and slightly sad chord progressions and composition. The drum track stays consistent and powerful throughout. The track grows towards the end adding muffled voices as well as the choir ethereal voices build. The track ends rather abruptly before moving into track 12.

12. Interlude (Loving The People)

Track 12 'Interlude' is exactly that. It is a break in the album where there are no 'main' vocals, only backing and choir vocals mixed in with a long sustained piano passage and effected guitars which almost feel unnecessary. This short track ends with a swelling synth and soft, quiet choir/backing vocals. Not entirely sure of the purpose of this track, take it or leave it. It does however, provide a transition into track 13.

13. Solid Ground

'Solid Ground' begins immediately after track 12 'Interlude,' where the last note of 'Interlude' also happens to be the first of 'Solid Ground.' This track takes a very stripped back approach to song writing as the majority of the track consists of solo vocals and a slightly muffled piano with the occasional sprinkle of high strings or backing vocals. This track especially provokes emotions of sadness and loneliness, only to build to the introduction of organs and drums in the final minute, providing an adequate conclusion to the track that meets the expectations of the simple stripped back intro. The track ends on random piano notes creating an atmosphere of being unsettled before entering the final track.

14. Light

The final track on the album, track 14, 'Light' is the culmination of Michael Kiwanuka's newest album. Coming in at over five mins 30 seconds it is a long track to close on. Following the ideas of the second half the album, this track is a very chilled and calm composition with certain instruments either being muffled or being played very softly. In this introduction and the first verses, the vocals and backing vocals are given a platform to shine on without being overpowered by the instrumentation, of which there is a lot on this track. Strings and drums are another mainstay with the occasional sprinkling of guitar. The wonderful classical acoustic guitar passages from the intro of the track quickly disappear, which is a shame, but nonetheless would have found themselves lost in the verses and choruses. These guitars make a comeback in the breaks between verses and the chorus where there are no vocals to overpower them. It is a very chilled and calm track to close the album on with more and more emphasis put on the orchestral nature of the composition whilst also allowing Michael to add a sprinkling of guitars suited very well to the relaxed vibe of the track.

Final Verdict

Coming in at over 50 minutes runtime, 'KIWANUKA' is certainly an album you are able to sink your teeth into. Spread across 14 track of varying length, the album provides some incredible highs with great vocal performances from Michael and the backing vocalists and fantastic use of instrumentation, including that of orchestral elements. However, there are a few tracks, mainly the Intro and Interlude tracks, which feel as though the album would be just as good, if not more concise, without them. These tracks do break up the album and the ideas, but at times the intro could be added to the main track or just not included at all. All in all a good album with some great tracks. Another great addition to Michael Kiwanuka's discography.

Rating: 7.5/10

Links to Buy/Stream

Michael Kiwanuka Store

Amazon UK

Apple Music

HMV

Google Play Music

Spotify