Growing up and getting comfortable in adulthood doesn't have to be boring.
When that concept is translated to music, it can feel like a warm musical embrace. Michael Kiwanuka's latest album, Small Changes, does just that.
For his fourth album, Kiwanuka worked with frequent collaborator producers Dean "Inflo" Cover (Sault) and Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton (Gorillaz, Broken Bells, Gnarls Barkley), both of whom also worked on his earlier releases Love & Hate and Kiwanuka.
Since the 2019 album Kiwanuka was released, the UK musician left his longtime home in London for southern England, and became a father to two children with his wife. Where the 2019 album was bold and often searing, filled with songs that captured your attention immediately, Small Changes is a slow burn with songs that sneak into your consciousness. The album is neither blissful nor unaffected, not disconnected nor loud and out to prove something, but at the same time, not boring or uninspired.
"Floating Parade" kicks off the album and is one of the songs most like his earlier work in using orchestral instrumentation and layered background vocals. The title track slows it down, rightly welcoming you into the album and laying the groundwork for what is to come in the next songs. "The One and Only" taps into retro soul, "Lowdown (Part i)" is smooth and easy, and "Follow Your Dreams" feels like floating on the clouds.
In reflecting on his move from London, marriage and fatherhood, the album embraces a stripped-back production, capturing the comfort of adulthood and being at ease in your own skin.
Must listens
- "Floating Parade"
- "Small Changes"
- "One and Only"
- "Lowdown (Part i)"
- "Follow Your Dreams"
