Kiwanuka (album)

Last updated

Kiwanuka
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka.png
Studio album by
Michael Kiwanuka
Released1 November 2019 (2019-11-01)
Length51:13
Label
Producer
Michael Kiwanuka chronology
Love & Hate
(2016)		Kiwanuka
(2019)
Singles from Kiwanuka
  1. "You Ain't the Problem"
    Released: 13 August 2019
  2. "Hero"
    Released: 10 October 2019
  3. "Piano Joint (This Kind of Love)"
    Released: 16 October 2019
  4. "Light"
    Released: 19 June 2020
  5. "Rolling"
    Released: 2020

Kiwanuka is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka. It was released on 1 November 2019 through Polydor and Interscope Records. [1] [2] The album won the 2020 Mercury Prize, [3] and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards. The opening track to this album was used by broadcaster ITV as its theme tune for its coverage of the Men's Football Euros 2020.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 8.5/10 [4]
Metacritic 89/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
The Daily Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [9]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [11]
Pitchfork 7.5/10 [12]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [13]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]

On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Kiwanuka has a score of 89 out of 100 based on 21 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [5] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [4]

Dave Simpson of The Guardian hailed Kiwanuka as a "bold, expansive, heartfelt, sublime album" and one of the best of the decade, [9] while Dorian Lynskey of Q called it a "compassionate, career-defining masterpiece". In her review for NME , Elizabeth Aubrey highlighted the personal nature of its lyrics, commending it as "a daring leap of self-affirmation." [11] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph described it as "an album in which a troubled spirit seeks the relief of music to mesmerising and charged effect." [15] In a year-end essay for Slate , Ann Powers cited Kiwanuka as proof that the album format is not dead but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis", with artists such as Kiwanuka utilizing the concept album through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives, which in this case is a "song cycle alchemizing violence through compassion". [16]

The album won the Mercury Prize 2020. It was the third time in his career he had been nominated following nominations for Home Again and Love & Hate but the first time he had won.

Accolades

Accolades for Kiwanuka
PublicationListRank
Afisha Daily (Russia) [17] The Best Foreign Albums of 2019
6
Albumism [18] The 50 Best Albums of 2019
6
AllMusic [19] Best of 2019—
American Songwriter [20] Top 25 Albums (and 25 More That We Loved) of 2019—
BBC Radio 6 Music [21] Albums Of The Year 2019
3
Chicago Tribune [22] Best rock-pop-rap albums of 2019
4
Clash [23] Albums Of The Year 2019
9
Double J [24] The 50 best albums of 2019
16
The Economist [25] The best albums of 2019—
Gigwise [26] 51 Best Albums of 2019
5
God Is in the TV [27] GIITTV Album Of The Year Poll Results 2019
2
Good Morning America [28] 50 of the best albums of 2019
2
The Guardian [29] The 50 best albums of 2019
12
Houston Chronicle [30] Andrew Dansby's albums of 2019
6
The Independent [31] The 50 best albums of 2019
18
The Line of Best Fit [32] The Best Albums of 2019 Ranked
20
Mondo Sonoro (Spain) [33] The best international albums of 2019
7
musicOMH [34] Top 50 Albums Of 2019
4
The New York Times (Jon Pareles) [35] Top 50 Albums Of 2019
8
NME [36] The 50 best albums of 2019
8
No Ripcord [37] The 50 Best Albums of 2019
11
PopMatters [38] The 70 Best Albums of 2019
18
Under the Radar [39] Top 100 Albums of 2019
34

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Kiwanuka, Brian Burton, and Dean Josiah Cover

Kiwanuka track listing
No.TitleLength
1."You Ain't the Problem"4:09
2."Rolling"2:51
3."I've Been Dazed"4:25
4."Piano Joint (This Kind of Love) (Intro)"2:18
5."Piano Joint (This Kind of Love)"3:51
6."Another Human Being"1:51
7."Living in Denial"3:31
8."Hero (Intro)"1:20
9."Hero"3:19
10."Hard to Say Goodbye"7:05
11."Final Days"4:10
12."Interlude (Loving the People)"2:42
13."Solid Ground"3:53
14."Light"5:48
Total length:51:13

Personnel

Credits adapted from digital liner notes.

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Certifications

Kiwanuka sales certifications
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [65] Gold100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 Bernstein, Jonathan (24 October 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka's Self-Titled Third Album is a Rich Psych-Soul Exploration". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  2. ↑ Minsker, Evan (13 August 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka Announces New Album". Pitchfork . Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  3. ↑ "And the winner of the #HyundaiMercuryPrize 2020 is... @michaelkiwanuka's #KIWANUKA". Twitter . 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
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  5. 1 2 "Kiwanuka by Michael Kiwanuka Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  6. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Kiwanuka – Michael Kiwanuka". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 November 2019.
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  8. ↑ McCormick, Neil (18 October 2019). "KIWANUKA, Michael Kiwanuka, review: a poignant interrogation of how much has changed since the civil rights era" . The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 17 November 2019.
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  10. ↑ Pollard, Alexandra (30 October 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka review: Defiant self-titled third album smudges the personal and political". The Independent . Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  11. 1 2 Aubrey, Elizabeth (29 October 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka – 'KIWANUKA' review: brave experimentation and hard-won self-knowledge". NME . Retrieved 28 November 2019.
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  16. ↑ Powers, Ann (17 December 2019). "The album is evolving". Slate . Retrieved 15 September 2020.
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  33. ↑ "Los mejores discos internacionales de 2019" [The best international albums of 2019]. Mondo Sonoro . 3 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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