Not bad... but too mainstream

Review Score:

(6/10)
Jamiroquai seems to have abandoned its funky jazz roots and settled more for a more shallow poppish sound. This CD takes away the aspects that gives Jamiroquai its distinct and original sound. I have all the Jam albums (except for space cowboy) and i think "Travelling Without Moving" is by far the best. The band sounded most original in their style, in "Emergency on Planet Earth" and as for synkronized.... well it was a bit off-course and scattered.

On AFO, "You give me something" and "love foolosophy" are horribly mainstream. They are bland, meaningless, but nevertheless catchy, thats why they appeal to the 'masses'. I however, and i hope you too, prefer music with more substance, which the original jam CDs had. "little-L" seems to have that little bit of substance, its catchy, but not so bland as the previous 2 tracks i mentioned. "Black Crow" made me laugh when i heard the chorus, its so lame, this cliche has been explored a million times, nothing new here.

"Corner of the EArth" is probably the best track, the strings and orchestal feel do wonders for the song. Even though lyrics like "natures got me high and its beautiful" should be ignored. 20-01, is ok, but the sound is unclear, kinda strange track, with a message like that of "virtual insanity". "main vein" and "stop dont panic" are equally funky and jamiroquai-like which is good. "picture of my life" is a good slow song with meaningful lyrics, a different style, but very good.

Now the most disturbing thing about AFO is the lack of didgeridoo. As an aussie, i found the didgeridoo in the modern background very creative and the didge became part of the jams trademark. The last we heard of it was in Synkronized (supersonic). This lacks the classic tracks like "didgital vibrations" and "when you gonna learn". No instrumental tracks either!! grrrrr

If you like the classic jamiroquai style, dont go for this, get EOPE or TWOM or possibly space cowboy. Otherwise if u like pop ... get this.

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