Since the surprise announcement in January Jamiroquai fans have been salivating at the thought of some new material. Their unique take on funky disco flavours gained them a hugely successful career in the 90’s, they continued to impress with consecutive gold and platinum albums roughly every five years since 1996. The seven year gap since their last album Rock Dust Light Star has been a little longer in comparison, will their latest material ensure another comeback?
Thanks to acts like Pharrell, Bruno Mars and Daft Punk there has been plenty of disco inspired sounds on the radio in recent years, it is an irresistible style that when executed well can often mean chart topping success. Jamiroquai have always been an intriguing group, both visually and sonically. Ground breaking music videos and outrageous outfits (especially frontman Jay Kay’s impressive hat collection) helped them to stand out in the past, this album plays with a more futuristic style at times; swapping rhodes for synths and top hats for an LED crown. Overall this is classic Jamiroquai material though, toe-tapping inoffensive summer grooves that always get under your skin.
The opener Shake It On has possibly taken a touch too much influence from the french robots Daft Punk. It is a well put together track with a polished string section adding an element of class, however its bold synthetic bass and vocoded vocal effects come across as unimaginative. The title track Automaton that follows is certainly more original, with full bodied 80’s style synth stabs and arpeggios. It’s slightly tamer pace also works in its favour, atmospheric vocals and a jumping bass line add the finishing touches.
Cloud 9 follows up with traditional Jamiroquai ingredients, funky guitar chops and more violin slides paint a glorious picture of a summer party. Jay Kay is on top form with an instantly recognisable chorus, they have always had a keen ear for a pop tune and this is no exception. An instant classic from them that holds up against Space Cowboy or Deeper Underground. The proceeding tracks are much less impressive but that is partly due to their more experimental nature. These will most likely split opinions but could easily scare off long time fans of the band, luckily Something About You saves the day with a satisfyingly cliché collection of handclaps, Nile Rogers electric guitar chops and of course, another stellar vocal performance from Jay Kay.
Three more relatively awkward pieces follow, but they manage to pick the pace back up again towards the end of the album. We Can Do It and Carla wrap up the release marvellously, without breaking their mould too much they manage to vary the arrangements just enough to keep you on your toes. Vitamin has a faster tempo and exquisite backing vocals that brings some much needed contrast, unfortunately Jay Kay almost ruins it with some more off-the-wall singing and questionable lyrical choices.
This album has ticked all the boxes for their fans, seven years out of the game has definitely not affected the groups tight performance in the studio. A good percentage of the album is filled with strong tracks that will have you going back for more, the rest is often an experimental swing and a miss, or simply just some filler that possibly should not have made the final cut. Essential listening for this fantastic spring weather, come and hear it at your local Richer Sounds today!
