Dynamite

Dynamite represents the sixth full-length studio album effort from London-bred futuro soul/funk outfit Jamiroquai. Four years later after the platinum success of 2001’s A Funk Odyssey, and frontman Jay Kay’s increasing dissatisfaction with the music industry, Jamiroquai returns. They have always been something of an enigma in the British music scene, being able to disappear for years, only to re-emerge with their distinctive sound intact and their hooks as catchy as they’ve ever been. And Dynamite was definitely worth the wait. It is a welcome return of Jamiroquai's trademark blend of '80s funk and pop sensibilities - familiar, yet refreshingly different to so much of their current competition. The album has something for everybody. It has different elements from their older albums and Jamiroquai have added some new and surprising sounds too. They even traveled from Europe to the USA to get different sounds and singers for this album.

Lead single Feels Just Like It Should does exactly what it says on the tin – it feels and moves like a classic Jamiroquai track, calling to mind Deeper Underground but offering memorable hooks too. It is a storming start to the album that sits at ease with the following title track, contemporary disco soul and very much the classic Jamiroquai sound too. The rest of the record splits between mid-tempo funkadelic toe-tappers in the vein of Starchild and acid jazz throwbacks like Talulah. The latter is as close as we get to a torch song from Jamiroquai and, with its flutes and languid tempo, acts as a punctuation mark in the middle of the album, with only World That He Wants slowing things down further. The tempo is ramped up again for (Don’t)Give Hate A Chance, which features the kind of bubblegum noises last aired by Scissor Sisters, but of course Jay Kay's gang patented them long ago. Further on, Black Devil Car plays like a parody of Jay Kay's petrolhead tendencies and suggests there's a humor somewhere under that headgear.

Not since Traveling Without Moving has a Jamiroquai record sounded so fresh, fluid and varied. The sound has evolved substantially compared to rather pop orientated Funk Odyssey; progressing in sound and style to a level, which sounds up to date but retains that trademark funky attitude we've all grown to love over the past decade. Lyrically the songs have matured; some emotionally deep, some relaxed and balanced, the more upbeat numbers well fused together and in the case of World That He Wants politically inspiring. Instrumentally the songs are rich and varied, layered with soul, funk, jazz, electro and even reggae. This album's groovy moods and catchy vibes make every single moment of it interesting. Halfway through the rumored ten-album deal and Jay Kay is still going strong – immune to criticism that his song vocabulary is limited, thankfully he remains true to his style and uncompromising in his pursuit of high quality pop music. This Dynamite might just blow your mind.