Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

Oh hype, you sexy animal. You give me easy opening paragraphs to write. You are carefully designated by the industry and the media to line pockets in the name of 'making someone big' or, to paraphrase The Voice (other talent shows are available), 'making dreams come true'. The thing is, giving someone the BBC Sound of... title neither carries any weight nor impresses critics. Past recipients indeed have acheived great commercial success - Jessie J, Adele and 50 Cent are now superstars - but the occasional cock-up has been made, too. The Bravery winning over Bloc Party and Little Boots winning over Lady GaGa, Florence + the Machine and La Roux, for example. Not one of the winners have garnered critical acclaim in abundance, either. When it gets as rock as Keane and as soulful as Corinne Bailey Rae you're never going to establish a real accolade for yourself.

Maybe I'm just whining because Kiwanuka, a relative unknown, has won over Frank Ocean and Azealia Banks. Maybe he's really good and interesting. Nonetheless it's an easily-earned #4 placing in the album charts that's come from this 'title', and I've yet to encounter someone actually mention his name. And I'm someone who discusses Mini Viva.


Opening with a jazz flute, something I haven't seen since Anchorman, 'Tell me a Tale' is undoubtedly a pretty track. All sorts of instruments are included to give it a real 1970s vibe, reminiscent of late Marvin Gaye material, and the end result is a gorgeous piece of nostalgia. The evocations of "Lord, I need some loving", too, sound particularly classic in today's secular society. Acoustic elements are continually present on the album, as seen in 'I'm Getting Ready', where his voice is again the finest aspect on a track otherwise best-suited for advertising flu medicine. Nods to folk music, too, on 'I'll Get Along' just about cement a fantastic taste in music for Kiwanuka, but sacrifices anything in the way of resonant lyricism. Settling instead for "Ooh I don't mean to leave you" and other reassuring pats on the back of your hand, it's a safe and comforting, but boring track.

Whether or not there's something in the argument that the greatest moments of soul and folk are born out of years of injustice, suffering and personal tragedy, none are present here and the effect is saccharine. At times, though, the music is so sublime that it's difficult not to succumb - 'Rest' is a perfect tranquilizer, and Kiwanuka's voice the perfect implement. When compared to contemporary soul musicians like Bon Iver, Ghostpoet or Thundercat, though, it seems quite stale. The title track oozes repetition with guitar scrapes left in for effect, and pleasant backing harmonies aside, it does leave me wanting more. The melody itself is undeniably cute, though. The percussion on 'Bones' seems to give the track its own crackle, which is quite a novel take on giving your music timelessness. With definite Otis Redding inspirations it's one of the album's securest and most convincing pastiches, and is faultless in its execution.

The tune to 'Always Waiting' seems the freshest of the album's ideas, and is again quite excellent, with lyrics telling of the continual power of love and music, and for me it's the personal favourite of the album. 'I Won't Lie' begins with a begging "Oh comfort me, brother, something's heavy on my mind" but opts for a pleasant Damien Rice plod-along rather than earnest heartbreak. In 'Any Day Will Do Fine', a title which seems to accurately represent the whole album's feel, there is quite a dark instrumental that, like clouds after a clear-sky morning, threatens misery, but it never really rains (unless you count "Hey, listen God/ After this song is through/ I'll be changing my ways" as a kick in the teeth). The subdued and gentle closer 'Worry Walks Beside Me' does attempt to capitalise on the 1950s blues and its penchant for embodying misery and suffering in physical pests, but the concerted effort here is on producing a nice tune.


A comment on the Guardian's review of this album used the phrase 'aural instagram'. The intentions are good and the influences perfect, but there's virtually nothing original about this record. That said, the ingredients are so delicious - Kiwanuka's voice, the production and the instrumentation - that it's difficult to get angry about the record's stale qualities. In that respect I liken it to a pizza 2 days past its 'Best Before Date': still enjoyable, but wish you'd opted for it earlier.

Rating: 6.5/10

Highlights: Rest, Bones, Always Waiting, Tell me a Tale, Home Again

Avoid: I'm Getting Ready, I'll Get Along, Any Day Will Do Fine


Artwork Watch: I was going to say 'well it's brown' until I realised that could be interpreted as mindless racism.
For fans of: Hot water bottles, Ovaltine, Top of the Pops 2, Jack Johnson and sudoku.