MOG Editorial Review

After several promising EPs, Home Again officially announces Michael Kiwanuka as one of the most exciting talents around, one with a penchant for soulful folk and Afrobeat that has more in common with Marvin Gaye and Shuggie Otis than anyone from his own generation. On opener "Tell Me a Tale," for instance, Kiwanuka unleashes his tenderly gritty vocals over a decidedly lo-fi beat, nearly feeling lost in time before a set of Afrobeat horns kick in, and the result feels strangely modern rather than a mere throwback. Similarly, a song like "I'll Get Along," with its Mayfield-style woodwinds, should evoke hollow nostalgia, but Kiwanuka's charisma and sincerity somehow make it work in 2012: this is a man singing in the way he loves to sing, with lyrics he truly means, and the results often remind you why you fell in love with music in the first place.