Michael Kiwanuka Turns Inward on Small Changes

Considering everything that has happened in the world in the five years since Michael Kiwanuka last released an album, his latest feels more like a reset than a follow-up. KIWANUKA in 2019 was a highly present LP full of sharp corners, softened by gorgeously rendered musical arrangements steeped in the sound of 1970s soul. Small Changes, by contrast, is more subdued, as though developments in his own life (two small children) and cultural upheavals (take your pick) have prompted Kiwanuka to recede into some interior emotional space.

KIWANUKA was rooted in the singer’s disillusion over the state of the world around him, prompted in part by how predominately white cultures treat non-white people. Small Changes is, instead, more interested in spiritual explorations of self. Kiwanuka here is examining the inner workings of his own mind, or soul. To the extent that he concerns himself with outside forces on these 11 songs, the singer and guitarist is often turning his back on them, seeking instead to fortify himself with the sort of all-encompassing love that endures through setbacks and disappointment. “Old hearts yearning / Whatever we’re going through / Oh darlin / I’m always with you,” he sings on “One and Only,” and it’s the central theme of the album: Whatever may come, through dreams fulfilled or dashed, the two of us remain.

As Kiwanuka’s focus has shifted, so has the shape of his music. He works again with Danger Mouse and Inflo, who help to conjure dreamier soundscapes still beholden to vintage soul, where the instruments always sound lush and fluid. Songs are unhurried, and there’s a hazy, languid feel throughout much of Small Changes. Circles of somber, minor-key piano wind through “Rebel Soul” and a squiggle of guitar repeats through a curtain of reverb on opener “Floating Parade,” while clacking drums and a blend of trebly electric guitar and tremulous organ float through sweeping string charts. The musical arrangements are frequently beautiful, with a cinematic streak that comes from having, say, 17 violins, five violas and five cellos on a track—“Small Changes,” in this case, which starts with understated drums and keyboards before the strings begin swelling up like a ground fog (the song is one of a handful to feature Jimmy Jam on organ). “Live for Your Love” puts grainy guitars closer to the front, until that same massive string section seeps in slowly over a bassline that pushes the song like a pulse, giving the track a sense of movement that isn’t always present on the LP.

Indeed, the sedate tempos can obscure the full scope of the emotional heavy lifting that Kiwanuka has undertaken on his fourth album. There’s sometimes a sameness from one track to the next that allows them to slide by without making as much of an impression as they should—and given how firmly Kiwanuka has established himself as a voice worth listening to, they should make an impression. Small Changes is a lovely sounding album full of thoughtful songs, but those two concepts aren’t always in sync this time around.

Eric R. Danton has been contributing to Paste since 2013. His work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and Pitchfork, among other publications. He writes Freak Scene, a newsletter about music in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut.