Gary is back with his review of the month and he is looking at Michael Kiwanuka's 'Home Again'

It’s always refreshing to get an album from a new talent. You can almost smell the hope and expectation on a debut collection of songs and that’s very much the case from ‘Home Again’, the first offering from Michael Kiwanuka, who hails from Kensal Rise.
 
For one so young, he’s got his feet firmly rooted in the past. This album has reflections of some of the great soul stars of the seventies. Album opener, ‘Tell Me A Tale’ could be straight from the Marvyn Gaye back-catalogue, whilst the two singles to date, the title cut and the latest, ‘I’m Getting Ready’ recall Bill Withers from his heyday. ‘I’ll Get Along’ would make a great third single, not dissimilar to the previous ones, whereas  ‘I Won’t Lie’ showcases the warmth of this guy’s voice perfectly. There were a couple of tracks that didn’t really seem to get going – ‘Always Waiting’ and ‘Worry Walks Beside Me’, but we’re more than compensated by the quality of the other tracks, especially ‘Any Day Will Do Fine’ which leans heavily towards the early Four Tops harmonies.
 
If this album had been released 40 years ago, we’d be hailing it today as a classic. Let’s just hope in 2052 the name Michael Kiwanuka is written large in the pages of early 21st century musical history.

Gary's verdict: I give this album 4 out of 5