Jamiroquai: Dynamite

Herald rating: * * * *

In the four years since they released A Funk Odyssey it's been all too easy to forget Jamiroquai existed, save for Jay Kay's occasional run-ins with the tabloids and fashion police. But here they are, crashing back on to the dancefloor in the Scissor Sisters' wake with an album that serves as a reminder not to pack away the mirror-balls just yet.

Dynamite is a surprisingly good return to form from a band who aren't just fans of 80s electro, sci-fi disco and bubblegum soul - they practically wrote the book. First single Feels Just Like it Should feels just like Cosmic Girl should, and Starchild, the album's most funkadelic moment, has a wah-wah guitar lick so fat you can almost forgive Kay's stupid hat collection.

Sure, the lyrics are stuck somewhere in Jay Kay's porn-star fantasy lounge - there's a whole lot of lovin', fast cars and dancefloor action going on at this party - but the solid songwriting carries the album. Even the catchiest tracks possess a sort of K-mart chic, particularly the ultra-smooth Tallulah, a throwback to acid jazz featuring Kiwi expat Nathan Haines on sax.

As far as ground-breaking musical forms go, you won't find any here - they still plunder the Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield song book - but that's exactly what Jamiroquai do best. It's off to Boogie Wonderland we go.

Label: Sony/BMG