Michael Kiwanuka Small Changes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka's Small Changes is an album of patient, interior moments where the best songs - like “One and Only” and “The Rest Of Me” - unfold slowly and reward attention. Jim Scott writes with a calm authority, noting how “One and Only” recalls Jeff Buckley and how the spacy breakdown of “The Rest of Me” contains the record's expansiveness. There is a generous sense of discovery across the album, and those standout tracks carry its quiet power rather than hauling it toward any big payoff. The result answers searches for the best songs on Small Changes by pointing listeners to those patient, luminous moments.

Key Points

• The best song, “One and Only”, stands out for its Buckley-like reverence and fragile, trusting vocals.
• The album's core strength is its patient, expansive arrangements and organic instrumentation that feel discovered rather than manufactured.

Themes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka’s Small Changes settles into a placid, downtempo groove where the best songs - notably “Floating Parade” and the two-part “Lowdown” - reveal his quieter strengths. The record traffics in unabashedly saccharine love songs and a spare psychedelic soul palette that lets his warm baritone drift, and the reviewer hears a man who has learned restraint rather than chase big hooks. If you want the best tracks on Small Changes, listen for “Floating Parade” for atmosphere and “Lowdown (part ii)” for the album’s rare, extended instrumental reach. This is an album content to simmer, and that steady simmer is precisely its appeal.

Key Points

• “Floating Parade” is the best song because it crystallizes the album’s dreamlike atmosphere and serves as a fitting subtitle for the record.
• The album’s core strength is its restrained, mellower psychedelic soul and Kiwanuka’s steady, sincere baritone.

Themes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka’s Small Changes is a patient, polished record whose best songs—most notably “One and Only” and “Floating Parade”—reveal why his velvet voice remains the album’s core. The review’s voice lingers on quiet grandeur, praising the Marvin Gaye-tinged urgency of “Floating Parade” while celebrating the emotional peak in “One and Only”. Other high points like “Lowdown (part i)” and “Lowdown (part ii)” show range, from lyric-driven plea to instrumental ambition. Even as the record grows sleepy toward the end, Kiwanuka’s musicianship and production keep these best tracks resonant for listeners willing to give them time.

Key Points

• “One and Only” is best because its understated arrangement and Kiwanuka’s emotional refrain create the album’s clearest peak.
• The album’s core strengths are Kiwanuka’s velvet voice, polished production, and moments that balance classic R&B influence with instrumental ambition.

Themes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka returns on Small Changes with a record that revels in subtlety, where opener “Floating Parade” sets a painterly, ballad-adjacent tone and the dual-part “Lowdown” acts as the centre-piece. The review leans into the intimacy of the production and the spacious, soulful introspection of songs like “Live For Your Love” and “Follow Your Dreams”, celebrating patient construction rather than spectacle. Closing track “Four Long Years” is praised as a stately finale that pulls the album's threads together into an incredible tapestry.

Key Points

• The best song is the closer 'Four Long Years' because it majestically ties the album together with stately Southern soul.
• The album's core strengths are its subtle, patient arrangements, soulful introspection, and careful, intimate production.

Themes

Critic's Take

The calmness at the heart of Michael Kiwanuka’s Small Changes is its chief virtue, and the best songs - like “Floating Parade” and “Rebel Soul” - show how subtlety can be as thrilling as spectacle. The record trades the epic sweep of his past work for close-up, Bill Withers-influenced soul, so the best tracks on Small Changes are those that let soft strings and restrained drums carry honest, life-affirming lines. You hear it first in “Floating Parade”, whose opening seconds are described as stunning, and again in “Rebel Soul”, whose mellow warmth steadies the album. This is an album that gently rolls pockets of magic into your path, and those quiet high points are where Kiwanuka feels most potent and sincere.

Key Points

• The best song, notably “Floating Parade”, is best for its stunning opening seconds that set the album's warm, soulful tone.
• The album's core strengths are subtle arrangements, restrained drums, and sincere, life-affirming lyrics that favor warmth over spectacle.

Themes

Critic's Take

Damien Morris writes that Michael Kiwanuka's Small Changes is a more reticent, intimately arranged record that rewards the listener who leans in, with songs such as “Floating Parade” and “Four Long Years” standing out for their aching restraint and beauty. He frames the album as a suite of exquisite songs, expertly produced by Danger Mouse and Inflo, where verses whisper titles rather than choruses belt them out. The review praises the album's orchestral soul and sublime songwriting while noting only a small quibble about missing guitar heroics on “Lowdown (part ii)”. Overall Morris positions Small Changes as another excellent album from an artist at his creative peak.

Key Points

• The best song, "Four Long Years", is best for its stunning, beautifully wrought balladry that marries soul and melancholy.
• The album's core strengths are intimate songwriting, orchestral soul arrangements, and expert production by Danger Mouse and Inflo.

Themes

Critic's Take

In his quieter, inward-turning mode on Small Changes, Michael Kiwanuka finds his most persuasive moments in songs like “One And Only” and the title track, where lush strings and intimate lyrics make them the best songs on Small Changes. The reviewer's eye lingers on “One And Only” for its lines of enduring love, and on “Small Changes” for its swelling string charts, both of which cut through the album's otherwise sedate tempos to become the best tracks on the record. The voice here favors dreamier, unhurried arrangements that reward close listening, though a sameness across many cuts keeps a few from leaving a stronger impression. Overall, these highlights make the album lovely sounding and thoughtful, even when the mood flattens the impact of some songs.

Key Points

• The best song, "One And Only," best encapsulates the album's central theme of enduring love through intimate lyrics.
• The album's core strengths are its lush, cinematic string arrangements and dreamier, unhurried vintage-soul production.

Themes

Critic's Take

In a voice that luxuriates in analogue warmth, Michael Kiwanuka\'s Small Changes finds its high points in songs like “Rebel Soul” and “Lowdown (part II)”, which swell into cosmic, cinematic peaks. The record moves from the hypnotic opener “Floating Parade” to the melancholic title cut with the same meditative grace. Tracks such as “One And Only” keep revealing themselves with each listen, making the album feel like restorative ritual rather than a set of singles. It is an album of gentle expanses and precise production where analogue textures and spacious arrangements reward repeated plays.

Key Points

• Rebel Soul is the standout for its arresting piano, bass tone and desire for extended length.
• The album's core strengths are analogue warmth, cinematic production, and immersive, restorative songwriting.

Themes

Critic's Take

In a patient, sunlit mood Roisin O'Connor finds the best songs on Small Changes to be ones that luxuriate in texture - the Bill Withers-indebted “Floating Parade” and the piano-lit “Rebel Soul” emerge as clear high points. She writes with calm authority about how these tracks showcase Kiwanuka's Seventies-tinged songwriting and meditative space, making them the best songs on Small Changes for listeners seeking warmth and restraint. The review names “The Rest Of Me” as another highlight, its languorous bass underlining why it ranks among the album's best tracks.

Key Points

• “Floating Parade” is best for its Bill Withers-indebted, orchestral sweep and celestial harmonies.
• The album's core strength is its meditative, Seventies-tinged songwriting and warm, textured production.

Themes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka keeps things spare and affecting on Small Changes, letting his songwriting and voice steer the record. The reviewer's eye lingers on songs like “Follow Your Dreams” as moments that uplift without grandstanding, and the album's eleven ballads unfold in a haze of silk-lined vocals and warping guitar work that make the best tracks quietly potent. In this measured, soulful register, the best songs on Small Changes reward repeated listens because they balance urgency and calm with heart, making “Follow Your Dreams” a clear highlight. The result is a minimalist statement piece that spotlights Kiwanuka's sentimental lyricism and emotional depth.

Key Points

• The best song, “Follow Your Dreams”, balances uplift and restraint, making it emotionally resonant.
• The album's core strengths are minimalist production, sentimental songwriting, and a consistent soulful mood.

Themes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka’s Small Changes is presented as an intimate but confident record that grows richer with each play, and the review clearly crowns “Floating Parade” and “Rebel Soul” among the best songs. The writer dwells on the dreamy instrumentation of opener “Floating Parade” and the gorgeous piano and haunting vocals of “Rebel Soul”, arguing these tracks showcase why the best songs on Small Changes feel timeless yet modern. There is also praise for the lo-fi, Afro-rock-inflected “Lowdown (part I)”, which the reviewer cites as a vivid example of Kiwanuka’s influences being woven in without heavy-handedness. Overall, the critic frames the album as a beauty of a record, earned through the producer trio and performances that reveal more magic on repeat listens.

Key Points

• The best song is the opener “Floating Parade” for its dreamy instrumentation and vivid evocation.
• The album’s core strengths are timeless songwriting, intimate performances, and tasteful production that nods to classic influences.

Themes

Critic's Take

Jason Anderson hears Michael Kiwanuka taking subtler steps on Small Changes, and he prizes the intimate rewards of that restraint. In Anderson's view, the best songs - notably “Rebel Soul” and “The Rest Of Me” - distill yearning and gratitude with striking clarity. He highlights how the two-part “Lowdown” and the title track also open unexpected pathways, balancing pared-back arrangements with moments of scale. Overall, the review frames these as the album's best tracks because they marry concision with emotional depth in ways that feel earned.

Key Points

• Rebel Soul is the best song because its haunting, cyclical piano and yearning vocal convey the album's emotional core.
• Small Changes’ core strengths are its restraint, intimate arrangements, and the depth of emotion distilled into concise songs.

Themes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka’s Small Changes feels like a quietly assured record, its best songs - “Floating Parade” and “One And Only” - balancing personal anxiety with warm, '70s-inflected soul. Tom Doyle’s tone is attentive and affectionate, praising the production team for tasteful sparseness while flagging moments of melodic payoff in “Lowdown (part i)” and “Four Long Years”. The reviewer frames the album as intimate and universal, a set of songs that soothe and reveal, making clear why listeners will search for the best tracks on Small Changes.

Key Points

• The best song, "Floating Parade", is best for its gorgeous, slow-burning arrangement and direct handling of anxiety.
• The album’s core strengths are tasteful, sparse production and a warm '70s soul influence married to modern textures.

Themes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka's Small Changes is at once intimate and quietly ambitious, and the reviewer's praise lands squarely on songs like “Small Changes” and “Floating Parade”. The piece stresses that the album keeps the spotlight on the singer and the songs, calling the title track an "instant classic" while noting the opener “Floating Parade” rests on a "restlessly bubbling groove". There's also affectionate emphasis on “Four Long Years”, described as haunted and quietly majestic, which together make clear which are the best tracks on Small Changes.

Key Points

• The title track “Small Changes” is best for its warm Fender Rhodes and being called an "instant classic".
• The album's core strengths are intimate, grown-up songwriting, warm arrangements, and restraint that foregrounds the songs.

Themes

Critic's Take

Michael Kiwanuka's Small Changes is a boundless, sun-dappled record whose best songs - notably “Small Changes” and “Rebel Soul” - capture a warm, confident stride in classic songwriting. The reviewer's voice relishes how the album lets you recline into its runtime, carried blissfully by string zeniths and sincere meditations of love, with “Live For Your Love” singled out for its heightened emotional lift. There is also a late strike of drama when the closer “Four Long Years” lets the other shoe drop, a forlorn heart-stopper that balances the record's warmth. This is praise that situates the best tracks on Small Changes alongside its referents while insisting Kiwanuka stands ceaselessly beside them.

Key Points

• The title track “Small Changes” is best for its warm, Sade-like amber glow and confident classic songwriting.
• The album's core strengths are its sun-dappled textures, heightened string arrangements, and sincere meditations on love.

Themes