Album review: Michael Kiwanuka, Home Again

Mark my words. Read these lips. Thank you Idi Amin. I don't believe I've ever written those phrases in a review before, certainly not together. In their own way they really apply to this remarkable debut album from Michael Kiwanuka. The Idi connection comes from the fact that Michael's family fled Uganda for Britain, and that's where he grew up.

Michael Kiwanuka is a soul singer, whose name you could mention in the same breath as Otis Redding, Sam Cooke or Astral Weeks-era Van Morrison.

Not only does he have a unique voice, but all of the songs on Home Again are his, and he provides much of the instrumentation as well. Guitars, bass, Rhodes piano, drums, you get the picture. The other contributor and producer is Paul Butler with saxes, trumpet, kora, sitar, cello and piano to his credit.

Home Again is a modern album production-wise but has a classic feel to it, with fabulous melodies, catchy hook-lines and seemingly effortless vocals, all of which he was honing as support act on Adele's 2011 tour.

While I guess it's hard to apply the word original, given we're talking about a well-mined genre in soul music, I reckon Michael Kiwanuka is about as close as you can get, and doesn't sound derivative.

On the strength of this debut release he's going to be a much better known name mighty soon. And he's only 23.

Title: Home Again

Artist: Michael Kiwanuku

Stars: 5 / 5