Although the arrangements include elements (strings, massed voices) that usually indicate epic aspirations painted on the widest possible canvas, the album utilises these ingredients sparingly. The default setting here is, well, smaller, and certainly more lowkey and intimate, than the psychedelically tinged orchestrations of 2019's masterful Kiwanuka.
Throughout Small Changes, the focus remains unstintingly on the singer – and most of all the songs. It's fortunate, then, that this sounds like Kiwanuka's most consistently strong set of tunes yet. In recent years, Kiwanuka has become a parent twice over and relocated to the English South Coast from his native London. Many artists might fear that such stability and removal from the bustle of the city could lead to a creatively arid dead-end. Kiwanuka, however, squeezes solid gold from themes of domesticity, long-term commitment, solidity and facing up to the new responsibilities. It's easy to read 'mature' as a backhanded compliment, signalling a more sluggish pace and resistance, if not downright suspicion of new experiences, ideas and influences. Small Changes offers songs that are grown-up in the best possible sense of the word: warm, nuanced, reflective and unrushed, maybe even wise.
Kiwanuka has spoken of such diverse influences as Gene Clark's expansively frazzled 1974 cult classic No Other, Sade and vintage 70s Afrorock from Zambia and Nigeria. To be fair, it's not easy to hear any obvious traces of these references on Small Changes. There are nods towards the deceptive simplicity and sparse, song-accentuating presentation of Kiwanuka's formative influence Bill Withers and the instrumental "Lowdown (Part 2)" offers a soaring tribute to the guitar stylings of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, while some of the richer arrangements sound like uncharacteristically restrained orchestrations cooked up by, say, David Axelrod. If you strain a little, you might hear echoes of the uncluttered grooves and emotional openness of Curtis Mayfield's Curtis Live. However, Small Changes ultimately sounds unmistakably like a Michael Kiwanuka album.
There are also hints of the rare and potent mix of sparse presentation and epic aspirations of such recent Sault records as 11. Which is perhaps unsurprising, as Small Changes again finds Kiwanuka working with producers and multi-instumentalists Inflo (Sault, Cleo Sol) and Dangermouse (Gnarls Harkley), continuing a winning streak that with 2016's creative breakthrough Love & Hate. Although the trio keep the proceedings uncluttered, Small Changes finds plenty of arresting nuances, hooks and rhythmically vibrant detail to elevate these often overcast tunes, predominantly infused by heavy themes of self-doubt, anxiety and striving for self-improvement. The subtly soaring opener "Floating Parade" rests on a restlessly bubbling groove, while the warm tones of a Fender Rhodes catapults the title track (an instant classic) to even loftier heights of loveliness. The haunted, quietly majestic "Four Long Years" could conceivably have been cut at Stax Studios.
Small Changes manages the rare feat of being a beautifully crafted singer-songwriter album in the classic mould without paying audible tribute to any of its classic inspirations, or succumbing to mere tasteful politeness: an album that's informed by the past while sounding unmistakably now.
