Jamiroquai
Synkronized
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Jamiroquai
Synkronized
Sony, 1999
RiYL: Disco funk, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder |
The English funk ensemble offers Synkronized as its fourth studio album, continuing to etch a distinctive groove on the surface of pop. The band hasn't made any great genre-crossing strides in its six-year existence, but it has cultivated a sound within the soul-funk sphere it feels most comfortable exploring.
Albums one and two, Emergency On Planet Earth and Return Of The Space Cowboy, featured organic textures and for the most part moved at the ultra-chill "speed of cheeba". Then 1997's Travelling Without Moving, the band's multi-platinum third album, refined things a bit in moving more toward a slick, bass-propelled funk sound fit for radio and MTV.
But Synkronized's calling card is stuck hard to the dance hall floor. Tighter, funkier grooves in the vein of "Light Years" from Space Cowboy abound. And frontman Jay Kay's latest lyrics follow suit, preaching that the cure for a downbeat mood on a bad day (or its little-known relative -- the "Black Capricorn Day") is to be found in the rhythm of the music.
Jamiroquai's flair for the polyrhythmic is now also supported by record scratching and looped acoustic guitars, two diverse spices added into the mix. The result is a dense soup of instruments all contributing to the album's edgy disco flavor.
The whole band is essentially a rhythm section, with Kay's trademark vocals and the occasional string or organ line floating atop the robust collaboration of drummer Derrick McKenzie, percussionist Sola Akingbola and new bassist Nick Fyffe (who was playing in a Jamiroquai cover band when Stuart Zender quit the group last year).
Jamiroquai is now paying more attention to the force of the groove and its textural nuances than to the songs' pop hooks. Listening at loud volume increases the appreciation of Synkronized, as the many layers of the music alternately bob to the surface. Yet the songs aren't as straight-up "catchy", and therefore as memorable as some of the band's earlier tunes.
"Soul Education" finds Kay and co. on dangerously familiar ground. "I didn't get much out of school, spent my days breaking the rules and regulations," Kay sings, echoing about three of his older songs.
But the band recovers, and in a surprise move, saves the best for last. Penultimate track "Where Do We Go From Here" features an incredibly energetic progression broken by catchy and uplifting choruses with staccato interplay between the horn section and guitarist Simon Katz. "King For A Day" is the band's best-ever album closer. The string-and-piano driven track ends the record on a memorable note. Though its lyric is a biting snub (rumored to be directed toward Zender), the song's instrumental track ends the album on an upward note, far from the darker funk displayed on the middle tracks.
Though not Jamiroquai's best effort, Synkronized is focused, and its 10 songs are filled out to the max with funk power. Time to lace up the dancing shoes and head down to the club.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.