This was played over and over when it was released last November, recently it has been tucked away getting a bit of a breather but with the announcement that Kiwanuka won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize I thought I'd give it a blast and I'm so glad I did.
In summary, it is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard, there, I’ve said it. It is soulful, funky, upbeat, heartfelt, thought-provoking and beautiful. I liked his first album 'Home Again', loved his second 'Love & Hate' and absolutely adore this, his third.
Every time I listen to it I hear something new, after hammering it on Spotify, the first time I heard it on vinyl it sounded different again, bigger somehow. It is a majestic piece of work that suits being blasted through decent speakers.
This is a proper 'listen to the whole thing in one sitting album' as opposed to picking up the odd song here and there. I mean, by all means, have a blast of 'You Ain't The Problem' but it sounds even better followed up by 'Rolling' and then 'I've Been Dazed' - it is fabulous as a complete piece of work, even better than the sum of its parts.
If you like Michael Kiwanuka you will love this. If you are new to him, it might take a couple of spins to get your head around it, but it most definitely is worth it.
It is no surprise that this won the Mercury Prize, it had already bagged the BBC 6 Music and Rough Trade album of the year for 2019. The Guardian described it as "one of the greatest albums of the decade" - they are all 100% correct.
Track to try: any of them, honestly. Want funky, try ‘You Ain’t The Problem’. A bit more heartfelt? Play ‘Piano Joint (This Kind Of Love)’. Some massive, sweeping, string filled nod to 70s soul? In that case, give ‘Hard To Say Goodbye’ a blast. Something more modern? ‘Final Days’ should fit the bill...