On his stirring second album, Love & Hate (Interscope), British singer Michael Kiwanuka writes in broad strokes, allowing listeners to adapt themes to their own lives in ways that sting. Given a patient, spacious sound by coproducer Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse), the record opens with a string-laden track that builds in intensity for some five somber minutes before Kiwanuka—a Brit born to Ugandan parents—utters his first words, questioning his faith and commitment but pledging to power through.…
On his stirring second album, Love & Hate (Interscope), British singer Michael Kiwanuka writes in broad strokes, allowing listeners to adapt themes to their own lives in ways that sting. Given a patient, spacious sound by coproducer Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse), the record opens with a string-laden track that builds in intensity for some five somber minutes before Kiwanuka—a Brit born to Ugandan parents—utters his first words, questioning his faith and commitment but pledging to power through.…