Michael Kiwanuka’s delayed Fudge album pairs loose jams with lush melodies

Michael Kiwanuka’s delayed album *Fudge* is out after he said he had suffered a stroke and spent months in hospital; he is now in residential care in Hampshire. Recorded alongside 2024’s *Small Changes*, it offers a more spontaneous, band-led sound and provides listeners with a new release at a time when Kiwanuka is unsure when he may make another.

The songs grew from jams with Kiwanuka’s live band in a Southampton studio, without the producers and prominent session musicians involved in *Small Changes*. Tape hiss and loose beginnings give the recordings a rough, live feel, balanced by lush strings, organ and memorable melodies. The review finds the extended instrumental passages vivid rather than self-indulgent, and suggests the songs may be melodically stronger than those on its predecessor.