Jamiroquai – Automaton, review: ‘Slick update on a retro formula’

It’s a good 15 years since Jamiroquai’s imperial chart phase but Jay Kay’s disco-funk outfit are still big enough to book a couple of summer dates at the O2 arena.

heir first album since 2010 is a slick update on a retro formula that suggests they’ve never really left the Nineties.

At 47, Kay’s pop persona is the familiar party playboy: on Hot Property he sings about his latest conquest with all the tenderness of a multi-millionaire briefly distracted from his collection of sports cars.

While the lyrics are best ignored, Automaton shows their knack for slinky, feelgood tunes expertly engineered for the dancefloor.

With the insidious groove of Nights Out in the Jungle and the consummate jazz-funk of Vitamin, Jamiroquai sound reinvigorated and ready for their revival.