20.

Jamiroquai
Rock Dust Light Star

We start with guilty pleasure #1. Jay Kay has bounced back from 2005’s frankly awful Dynamite to produce another really fun(ky) pop record. Over the five year break, Jamiroquai have clearly gone back to what comes naturally. So, gone is the forced trance/electronica of A Funk Odyssey, as is Dynamite’s misguided attempt to sound like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rock Dust Light Star instead essentially offers the funk bass/pop chorus formula which underpinned Jamiroquai’s 90s heyday. As such, the album is not exactly groundbreaking; more the return of a familiar friend. Having said that, it’s a record that benefits from a willingness to add a variety of aspects of pop history into the mix: 60s soft rock, 70s disco and 80s synth-pop all combine with the familiar Jamiroquai sound to create a consistently strong and extremely enjoyable record.