"Cold Little Heart" is a song by British singer/songwriter Michael Kiwanuka, from his second studio album, Love & Hate. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album on 24 February 2017.
The song was used in the opening credits of the American noir comedy series Big Little Lies.
Music video A music video to accompany the release of "Cold Little Heart" as a single was first released onto YouTube on 23 March 2017, where it has reached over 250 million views as of November 2025.Michael Kiwanuka - Cold Little Heart (Official Video). YouTube
Reception
Marcus J. Moore of Pitchfork stated that "Cold Little Heart" was the best song on Love & Hate, saying "the album's 10-minute opener is easily the record's best song, landing somewhere between Pink Floyd's soul/rock hybrid and Isaac Hayes' orchestral arrangements".
In another positive review of the album, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian states: "It takes confidence to open an album with a song that lasts over 10 minutes, the first five of them entirely instrumental. That confidence could obviously be wildly misplaced – a five minute instrumental overture replete with strings, wordless backing vocals and melancholy slide guitar that sounds not unlike the work of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour could be an exercise in terrible hollow pomposity. But instead, Cold Little Heart proceeds with a stately assurance: the moment where the song suddenly pulls into focus is really thrilling."
Track listing
Personnel
Performers and musicians Michael Kiwanuka - vocals, electric guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar Inflo - piano, drums Brian Burton - bass, percussion, synth pad Paul Boldeau - backing vocals Phebe Edwards - backing vocals LaDonna Harley-Peters – backing vocals Wired Strings Jenny Sacha – violin Gillon Cameron - violin Anna Croad - violin Sally Jackson - violin Patrick Kieman - violin Eleanor Mathieson violin Kotono Sato - violin Debbie Widdup – violin Emma Owens – viola Nzomi Cohen – viola Rosie Danvers – cello, string arrangements Bryony James – cello Richard Pryce – double bass
Technical Brian Burton (As Danger Mouse) - production Inflo - production Richard Woodcraft – engineering Todd Monfalcone – engineering
Charts + Weekly chart performance for "Cold Little Heart" Chart (2017) Peakposition
Certifications
References