Sony
It's hard not to feel energized while listening to Jamiroquai's "Dynamite."
English jazz and funk band Jamiroquai’s music always has a consistent style while surprising me with every listen. With their 2005 album “Dynamite” reaching its 20th anniversary last month, I figure it’s appropriate to do a timely retrospective on a great record by a band that I can’t seem to get enough of.
The opening track, “Feels Just Like it Should,” starts with a hook that makes you think the album’s sound will be a bit rougher, then the rest of the instrumental flies in as the track settles into the acid jazz sound that most of Jamiroquai’s music consists of.
Lead vocalist and frontman Jay Kay enters with his vocals and defines the flow that is so iconic and integral to the band. Kay’s vocals make a great pairing with the always complex and layered instrumentals.
One of my favorite instrumental tracks is the song “(Don’t) Give Hate a Chance,” which is an instrumental with a lot going on, so it seems like you hear a new instrument every listen. That aspect of their music isn’t always right up front, but it is always present and makes listening a rewarding experience.
The lyrics of “Dynamite” and most of Jamiroquai’s work usually consist of verbalizing feelings instead of telling a story or proving a point through words; they don’t bother themselves too much with that. The objective is more about expressing the feeling that the words evoke, and Kay usually sings about more abstract things, keeping songs unspecific.
The single track on “Dynamite” that combines all previously mentioned aspects would be “Seven Days in Sunny June,” with Kay providing range and impactful flow while the instrumentation evolves throughout, with many different instruments getting their time to shine.
Starting and ending with a solitary acoustic guitar, the song’s feeling is framed as a single moment, a period that’s just a memory now. If I had to tell someone to listen to only one song from “Dynamite,” I’d say “Seven Days in Sunny June” without hesitation.
Overall, “Dynamite” is a consistently nostalgic and energetic album without the intention to disappoint. So, as you work on the first classes of the semester, I highly recommend listening to Jamiroquai’s “Dynamite.”