KIWANUKA DELIVERS ONE OF DECADE’S BEST
Singer’s self-titled album deserves all the praise being heaped upon it
British-ugandan musician Michael Kiwanuka earned a Mercury Prize nomination for his 2012 debut album Home Again and picked up the BBC’S Sound of 2012. His followup, 2016’s Love & Hate, landed at No. 1 in the U.K. and saw him gaining considerable attention in North America. Clearly, the singer’s combination of smooth acoustic, near folky sounds blended with elements of everything from Curtis Mayfield to Radiohead rang true with listeners.
Heavy touring honed his live show into something truly special and also developed a wider variety of sounds in his soul music. Over five million views of the 2016 live-session video for Cold Little Heart prove people took notice.
For his self-titled third album, Kiwanuka once again joined up with super-producer Danger Mouse, as well as bringing in London hip-hop producer Inflo. Advance reviews for the record are exceptional with the Guardian’s Dave Simpson declaring Kiwanuka “one of the greatest albums of the decade.” As said decade comes to an end, the world could be ready for some spirit-raising, contemplative music à la Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.
Here are five things to know about Kiwanuka:
1. You Ain’t the Problem.
The absolutely killer opening track to the 13-tune recording serves as a showcase of everything that is to come. Distant congas play as echoing guitar slides in and out. Then a piano trill kicks in and handclaps begin. It’s like the opening to Donny Hathaway’s The Ghetto until the fuzz-tone guitar blares countered against a chorus hook that could be right off of a Carpenters hit. Then Kiwanuka’s piercing voice cuts through it all to declare, “if you don’t belong, you ain’t the problem.” The song looks into the singer’s own internal conflicts with personal demons and anger as well as the bigger picture of the sickness of societal bigotry on the rise and somehow finds something positive. The closing keyboard notes make you wonder if it’s all been a dream.
2. I’ve Been Dazed.
The tradition of the big arena testimonial ballad has been somewhat lost since the end of the ’70s. From Can’t Find My Way Home to Free Bird, it was a given that an artist would have some monumental moment in a live show that could be jammed out and turned into a showstopper. This mid-tempo monster of a song comes complete with big swooshes of strings, a gospel choir chanting “time is the healer,” guitars right out of a Southern rock record and a near-hypnotic vocal. Pretty awesome for the third track on the album.
3. Terry Callier and Ted Hawkins.
It would be impossible not to draw comparisons with both of these underappreciated artists whose music existed somewhere between folk, R&B, jazz, rock and even the smooth pop of geniuses like Burt Bacharach. Kiwanuka’s pipes pack the same kind of all-encompassing warmth that made Callier’s Ordinary Joe a gem. There is never a moment when it gets overwhelmed by any of the inventive arrangements. He’s also able to get really bluesy as Living In Denial makes clear.
4. An understated Guitar Hero.
Every bit of instrumentation on Kiwanuka is so spot-on that it’s hard to pick favourite passages. But one thing consistent throughout the record is the piercing, atmospheric and evocative guitar work. Kiwanuka seems to have studied at the altar of such greats as Eddie Hazel and David Gilmour. Just check those Pink Floyd-ish licks in Hard to Say Goodbye.
5. Light.
Understandably, the overall mood on Kiwanuka is shaded in dark tones. Inner conflict and pain have always played a part in great art and when the singer declares “shine your light over me, all of my fears are gone” in the closing track, it’s believable. While not naive enough to declare that all you need is love, Kiwanuka isn’t afraid to look at the positive. That quality alone makes a good argument for Kiwanuka being one of the year’s best and, yes, a highlight of the 2010s. en opening track I Lost a Friend, or the clap-happy I Don’t Miss You at All. And the arrangements are different for such purely popsong craft.
FORQ
Four | Groundup Music
One of the surprising success stories of recent years has been the rise of the fusion/jam band Snarky Puppy. That band’s bassist, Michael League, and keyboardist Henry Hey formed Forq in 2012 and released its debut on SP’S label in 2014. Various personnel changes followed, including League departing, but Forq continued and this 11-track release should be on every SP fan’s listening list as well as all those who can dig the place where classic video-game music and New York’s No Wave scene coincided. The use of classic SID -synth sounds throughout the material makes everything take on a vintage gloss, but the polyrhythmic vamps in Tiny Soul or Rally come across as completely current. Totally cool.
Woolworm
Awe | Mint Records
On its third release this Vancouver crew turns everything up and creates music that anyone who grew up with Brit Pop and shoegaze is going to adore. The title track packs giant, shimmering twin guitars, pounding drums and chiming harmonies between lead singer Giles Roy and bassist Heather Black into two minutes and a few seconds of sonic bliss. Brevity is something the quartet understands and it gives the music a vitality that many rock albums lack. While fast rockers seem the band’s forte, the moody spacerock of Soon and metal-ish Live for You and Much to Much prove the group can shift gears.
Record release is Nov. 15 at Red Gate, 1965 Main St. Tickets and info available at the door.