Michael Kiwanuka, Islington Assembly Hall - review - Music - Arts

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That might seem like a strange admission from the man who recently topped the BBC Sound of 2012 poll, the annual list of next big things that was last year won by Jessie J, but Kiwanuka's music doesn't concern itself with current trends. His are timeless songs, created with old-fashioned ingredients: a voice, a melody and a bucketload of soul.

The hour-long set began with I'll Get Along, a sun-dappled acoustic soul number that nodded to Bill Withers, before I Need Your Company put his superb seven-piece band through its paces.

Lyrically, Kiwanuka resists the woe-is-me rhetoric of many singer-songwriters, opting for something altogether more uplifting. I'm Getting Ready was a stripped-back ballad about finally overcoming self-doubt while Tell Me A Tale was a clarion call propelled by Astral Weeks-style backing.

If the pace slowed during a solo section, the quality remained remarkably high. You could have heard a pin drop during I Won't Lie and Any Day Will Do Fine - poignant ballads powered by nothing more than plucked acoustic guitar and Kiwanuka's rich baritone.

The band rejoined him for Home Again, the title track from Kiwanuka's forthcoming debut album, before a cover of Bill Withers's I Don't Know cued the evening's first singalong. "Sometimes I just don't know," sang the crowd over its bouncy jazz-soul backing.

When it comes to Kiwanuka, however, there can be no such uncertainty: he's the real deal.

Michael Kiwanuka
Islington Town Hall
Upper Street, N1 2UD