Jay Kay has never been the most popular of rock stars - his silly hats, ridiculous car collection and outrageously arrogant behaviour have seen to that. The man's massive record sales, on the other hand, demand that his music at least deserves to be taken seriously. On the suitably-titled Dynamite he's really pulled out all the stops, making his trademark retro-funk sound harder, dirtier and edgier than ever before. The only problem is that as slick and powerful as it is, it's also a bit soulless - not unlike one of his Ferraris, in fact. Lyrically it's the same old mixture of sexual boasting and political protest, including a heartfelt piano ballad about George Bush that proves a lot less embarrassing than you might think. With plenty of sunny melodies and potential singles here, this super-smooth album should do Jay Kay's bank balance a power of good. Whether it'll make him any more popular is much more doubtful.

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