When it comes to music, the U.S. is the hardest market for an international artist to break in to. American’s have very specific tastes to when it comes to their favorite artists. Many international bands have tried to crack the US market, with some success (Savage Garden, Celine Dion, Abba, Norah Jones, Flogging Molly, etc.). However, there have been many worthy bands that always seem to fall under the radar. One of the best bands to never make it big in the mainstream is an Acid Jazz/Funk group named Jamiroquai.

Jamiroquai, headed by front man Jar Kay, made a minor ruckus in 1997 with the amazing music video to “Virtual Insanity“; from the album Traveling Without Moving. A type of video that the MTV generation had never experienced before, “Virtual Insanity“; gave Jamiroquai their shot at the U.S. market. As much as everyone loved the video, record sales didn’t follow suit, and Traveling Without Moving sank into the overstock bins at record stores across the country. In 1999, Jay Kay tried again with Synkronized. The debut single, “Canned Heat,”; although a good club song, had a somewhat risqué music video and didn’t get the TV airtime the group had hoped for. Their third attempt, in 2001, was with the single “little L“; from the album A Funk Odyssey. The record was somewhat of a departure from their normal Acid Jazz genre, and took on a more techno mask.  Even with an MTV friendly music video, and Sony backing them with a barrage of advertising, Jamiroquai once again fell short in the United States.

Now, with their sixth release, Jamiroquai has decided to back off in the U.S., and focus more on their established market: the rest of the world. This time around, the States won’t see the album until August, and there are no currently scheduled tour dates. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any fans of Jamiroquai in the U.S. The Jamiroquai Official Forum (http://bb.jamiroquai.com) is flooded with fans in the begging for a concurrent U.S. release date and tour. Unfortunately, these fans are in a vast minority, as Jamiroquai hasn’t toured in North America since 2001. According to the site, there are no plans to schedule a U.S. tour, as they feel that any booked venues would grossly undersell, and produce a loss to both the band and their label.

The album itself, called Dynamite, is quite an amazing LP. It is a culmination of all five previous albums, as can be seen in many of their tracks. The first single, “Feels Like It Should“;, is very reminiscent of their Synkronized album. This track is easily the most addicting song on the album, much in the same fashion that “Love Foolosophy“; was on Funk Odyssey.  The track “Seven Days in Sunny June“; represents their earlier days, where synthesizers and digital sounds took a backseat to the natural beats, piano, and guitar rhythms that were abundant in “Return of the Space Cowboy“;.

The entire album has a great flow, as all the tracks seem to be where they should be; and blend together well to produce an album you immediately want to restart and experience again. When I reached the last track and realized it was over, I simply had to go back to track one and listen to it all over again.

Unfortunately, Dynamite won’t be officially available in the States until August, but that doesn’t mean you can’t import it, or go to a record store that will make international orders and get it, which I highly recommend. You’ll be glad you did, and maybe if enough of us do so, we can make a difference in the hard-to-crack U.S. Market, and one day bring the band back into the mainstream.