Kiwanuka (album)

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]

Kiwanuka
Studio album by Michael Kiwanuka
Released	1 November 2019 (2019-11-01)
Genre	Folk, indie rock
Length	51:13
Label	Polydor Interscope
Producer	Danger Mouse Inflo
Michael Kiwanuka chronology
Love & Hate (2016) Kiwanuka (2019)
Singles from Kiwanuka
"You Ain't the Problem" Released: 13 August 2019 "Hero" Released: 10 October 2019 "Piano Joint (This Kind of Love)" Released: 16 October 2019 "Light" Released: 19 June 2020

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.5/10[3]
Metacritic	89/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Chicago Tribune	[6]
The Daily Telegraph	[7]
The Guardian	[8]
The Independent	[9]
NME	[10]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[11]
Q	[12]
Rolling Stone	[1]
The Times	[13]

On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Kiwanuka has a score of 89 out of 100 based on 21 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[3]

Dave Simpson of The Guardian hailed Kiwanuka as a "bold, expansive, heartfelt, sublime album" and one of the best of the decade,[8] 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."[10] 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."[14]

The album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize 2020. The third time in his career following nominations for Home Again and Love & Hate.

Accolades

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Afisha Daily (Russia)	The Best Foreign Albums of 2019	6	[15]
Albumism	The 50 Best Albums of 2019	6	[16]
AllMusic	Best of 2019	N/A	[17]
American Songwriter	Top 25 Albums (and 25 More That We Loved) of 2019	N/A	[18]
BBC Radio 6 Music	Albums Of The Year 2019	3	[19]
Chicago Tribune	Best rock-pop-rap albums of 2019	4	[20]
Clash	Albums Of The Year 2019	9	[21]
Double J	The 50 best albums of 2019	16	[22]
The Economist	The best albums of 2019	N/A	[23]
Gigwise	51 Best Albums of 2019	5	[24]
God Is in the TV	GIITTV Album Of The Year Poll Results 2019	2	[25]
Good Morning America	50 of the best albums of 2019	2	[26]
The Guardian	The 50 best albums of 2019	12	[27]
Houston Chronicle	Andrew Dansby's albums of 2019	6	[28]
The Independent	The 50 best albums of 2019	18	[29]
The Line of Best Fit	The Best Albums of 2019 Ranked	20	[30]
Mondo Sonoro (Spain)	The best international albums of 2019	7	[31]
musicOMH	Top 50 Albums Of 2019	4	[32]
The New York Times (Jon Pareles)	Top 50 Albums Of 2019	8	[33]
NME	The 50 best albums of 2019	8	[34]
No Ripcord	The 50 Best Albums of 2019	11	[35]
PopMatters	The 70 Best Albums of 2019	18	[36]
Under the Radar	Top 100 Albums of 2019	34	[37]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
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

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[38]	39
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[39]	31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40]	4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[41]	56
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[42]	73
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[43]	6
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[44]	25
French Albums (SNEP)[45]	31
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[46]	23
Irish Albums (IRMA)[47]	11
Italian Albums (FIMI)[48]	79
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[49]	37
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[50]	12
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[51]	23
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[52]	13
Scottish Albums (OCC)[53]	2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[54]	27
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[55]	59
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[56]	8
UK Albums (OCC)[57]	2
US Billboard 200[58]	142

References

1. 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. "Kiwanuka by Michael Kiwanuka reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
4. "Kiwanuka by Michael Kiwanuka Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
5. Jurek, Thom. "Kiwanuka – Michael Kiwanuka". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
6. Kot, Greg (1 November 2019). "Album review: Michael Kiwanuka is back bolder than ever with 'Kiwanuka'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
7. 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.
8. Simpson, Dave (1 November 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka: Kiwanuka review – one of the greatest albums of the decade". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
9. Pollard, Alexandra (30 October 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka review: Defiant self-titled third album smudges the personal and political". The Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
10. Aubrey, Elizabeth (29 October 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka – 'KIWANUKA' review: brave experimentation and hard-won self-knowledge". NME. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
11. Soto, Alfred (1 November 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka: Kiwanuka". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
12. Lynskey, Dorian (December 2019). "Healing Powers". Q (405): 104.
13. Hodgkinson, Will (1 November 2019). "Michael Kiwanuka: Kiwanuka review — a restless soul finally finds himself". The Times. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
14. 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 16 July 2020.
15. Овчинников, Николай (26 December 2019). "Лучшие зарубежные альбомы 2019 года" [The Best Foreign Albums of 2019]. Afisha Daily. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
16. "ALBUMISM SELECTS: The 50 Best Albums of 2019". Albumism. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
17. "AllMusic Best of 2019". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
18. "Top 25 Albums (and 25 More That We Loved) of 2019". American Songwriter. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
19. "6 Music Recommends Albums Of The Year 2019". BBC Radio 6 Music. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
20. Kot, Greg (3 December 2019). "Best rock-pop-rap albums of 2019: Fierceness from Jamila Woods, blast furnace sounds from Sturgill Simpson". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
21. "Clash Albums Of The Year 2019". Clash. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
22. "The 50 best albums of 2019". Double J. ABC. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
23. "The best albums of 2019". The Economist. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
24. "Gigwise's 51 Best Albums of 2019". Gigwise. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
25. Etheridge, Loz (17 December 2019). "GIITTV Album Of The Year Poll Results 2019". God Is in the TV. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
26. Raible, Allan (26 December 2019). "50 of the best albums of 2019". Good Morning America. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
27. "The 50 best albums of 2019: the full list". The Guardian. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
28. Dansby, Andrew (23 December 2019). "Andrew Dansby's albums of 2019". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
29. "The 50 best albums of 2019 – from Tyler, the Creator's IGOR to Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising". The Independent. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
30. "The Best Albums of 2019 Ranked". The Line of Best Fit. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
31. "Los mejores discos internacionales de 2019" [The best international albums of 2019]. Mondo Sonoro. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
32. Hubbard, Michael (21 December 2019). "musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2019". musicOMH. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
33. Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon (5 December 2019). "Best Albums of 2019". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
34. "The 50 best albums of 2019". NME. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
35. "The 50 Best Albums of 2019". No Ripcord. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
36. "The 70 Best Albums of 2019". PopMatters. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
37. Redfern, Mark (31 December 2019). "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2019 (Part 1)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
38. "Australiancharts.com – Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
39. "Austriancharts.at – Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
40. "Ultratop.be – Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
41. "Ultratop.be – Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
42. "Michael Kiwanuka Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
43. "Dutchcharts.nl – Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
44. "Kiwanuka Michael: Kiwanuka" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
45. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 45, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
46. "Offiziellecharts.de – Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
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48. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 45 (dal 01.11.2019 al 07.11.2019)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
49. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
50. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 45, 2019". VG-lista. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
51. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
52. "Portuguesecharts.com – Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
53. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
54. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 45: del 01.11.2019 al 07.11.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
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56. "Swisscharts.com – Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
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