[4] Dave Simpson of The Guardian hailed Kiwanuka as a "bold, expansive, heartfelt, sublime album" and one of the best of the decade,[9] while Dorian Lynskey of Q called it a "compassionate, career-defining masterpiece".

In her review for NME, Elizabeth Aubrey highlighted the personal nature of its lyrics, commending it as "a daring leap of self-affirmation.

"[11] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph described it as "an album in which a troubled spirit seeks the relief of music to mesmerising and charged effect.

"[15] In a year-end essay for Slate, Ann Powers cited Kiwanuka as proof that the album format is not dead but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis", with artists such as Kiwanuka utilizing the concept album through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives, which in this case is a "song cycle alchemizing violence through compassion".

All tracks are written by Michael Kiwanuka, Brian Burton, and Dean Josiah CoverCredits adapted from digital liner notes.