London’s Michael Kiwanuka owes his impact to his alloys of Afro-British folk and typically American soul of the ’60s and ’70s. His magnificent voice is wrapped here in reliable references, with Danger Mouse displaying no shortage of tasteful ideas at the production board. Production, arrangements and compositions are based here on a brilliant play of sure values, pop classicism at the service of a sensitive, subtle, sometimes outspoken approach. Personally as well as publicly, Kiwanuka embodies this second generation of African immigrants to the United Kingdom. For the right reasons, he’s becoming a star.
