Love & Hate

With the added production support of Brian Burton, a.k.a. the multi-talented Danger Mouse, and a newer producer, Inflo, Michael Kiwanuka made an extremely gutsy but brilliant move for a R&B/Blues, folk fusion artist, the result being an absolutely gritty, gut-wrenchingly powerful album that encompasses all of Michael's giftings and musical stylings whilst stretching the borders of what a folk artist can be, can do (Michael's music is difficult to label, but I feel folk best rounds out and includes the result of his Blues/Soul/R&B/Rock sound on his debut album, Home Again, if a label must be given...). This album has Michael's unique folksy style playing out beautifully in the forefront but, unlike in his first few releases, he's here backed by some modern musical genius provided by Danger Mouse and Inflo who produced, engineered and mixied Michael's brilliant original sound making it thick, weighed down, heavy, sonorous, powerful.With Danger Mouse and Inflo's additions, this album is, admittedly, a big change from Michael's original sound, especially for the folk purists that were drawn to Michael, but I strongly encourage an open-minded listen to this new spin on what Michael did so well, so perfectly, in his folksy, bluesy, jazzy, soul and R&B-tinged albums and EPs, Home Again, Home Again EP, I'm Getting Ready EP, and Tell Me A Tale EP Isle Of Wight Sessions. The new sounds, layers of loops and backtracks, filters and unorthodox backbeats, harmonizing or atonal keys, perfect string arrangements and fantastic supporting vocals, are all at the core of what makes Michael's unique sound leap to the forefront, shining all the more brightly on this album. Each track is a delicacy for the ears, the Michael I know and love still shining through, but also being ground down and roughed up, spitting venom and mud-trudging through this emotional album by blending his blues, jazz, R&B/soul and rock folk fusion with a gruff and tumble electronic backdrop.This is like listening to Home Again on steroids, the lyrics more powerful, Michael's voice fierce, more pained, raw and his acoustic guitar replaced by the sound of a growling or singing electric guitar, all working together to build a beautiful, grainy pyramid atop which Michael lays down his sound. This album is a true work of art and the passion oozes from speakers or headphones like honey, sweet and sticky (because the lyrics and music are dark and burdened with deep, sweet soul), granular and viscous, brawny and intelligent.Let me make this easy; if you're looking at this, buy it. This album is a genuine treat, every single track a hit, that is to say, a home run, knocked out of the park. This is damn near perfection!

Love this artist and this album.

Very good CD of a great artist.

Michael Kiwanuka is the best musician and voice to come along in a very long time. Once you hear his voice, you will never forget it. It is so genuine, so pure. He is such a talented man, this CD will quickly become one of your favorites! "Cold Little Heart" is an amazing new R&B/Blues classic. He is the real deal, not relying on studio manipulations like so many of today's music. This is one gifted artist.

I bought this to hear the main two tracks: Love & Hate (marvelous) and Cold Little Heart (wonderful). The other tracks are really good, too. But, for me, the two tracks are worth the cost of the whole cd.

Great music, really feel the soul of Blues in all his songs.My dog was diagnosed with terminal cancer and when I knew the time had come, I walked him one last time playing Cold Little Heart on repeat. I never wanted a dog at first and was surprised at how much I cane to love and need him. Much of this artists songs are cathartic and helped me grieve.Like my time with my dog, when it's over you feel something, but totally worth it.

After delivering a vintage-R&B debut four years ago, Michael Kiwanuka returns with an about-face of a sophomore effort. Love & Hate is an album filled with psychedelia, prog rock, and '70s Philly soul. Where 2012's Home Again is tightly constructed, Love & Hate stretches out quite liberally, with three of its ten songs clocking in at a minimum of seven minutes. Opener "Cold Little Heart" immediately sets the tone, informing the listener that Kiwanuka is taking quite a different approach here by commencing with a long, atmosopheric, David Gilmour-inspired guitar solo; five minutes pass before Kiwanuka's vocals even step in. It's a bold, refreshing decision when you consider both radio's demands and, true or not, the "sophomore slump" threat. With production duties split between Danger Mouse, Paul Butler, and Inflo, every song is rich with texture, subtleties, and undeniable melodies. The instrumentation throughout is beautiful yet haunting -- and appropriately so given the subject matter at hand. Over ten songs, Kiwanuka bares his soul and vulnerabilities, constantly trying to cope, be it with his faith ("Father's Child"), his surroundings ("Black Man in a White World"), or his heartbreak (mostly every other song). No song envelops all these things at once more completely than the title track, the album's centerpiece that could sit perfectly within Marvin Gaye's groundbreaking 1971 album What's Going On, yet simultaneously feels more pertinent now than ever before. Never have the troubles of the world sounded so intoxicating.IF YOU ONLY TRY ONE SONG: "Love & Hate"

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