Lotus emerged in 1999, touting a versatile style dubbed “jamtronica.” But nearly two decades and 12 albums later, the genre-blurring quintet just want to get funky and burn down the house. The polished, propulsive Eat the Light is the band’s first to feature vocal hooks on every track—a move that inches them ever closer to national attention outside the jam circuit. Lotus have been upfront with their intentions, designing this as a full-fledged “pop record”—a groove-heavy soundtrack to backyard barbecues and windows-down car cruising.

While longtime fans may crave more of the instrumental firepower that defines the band’s live show, Eat the Light maintains Lotus’ high standard of musicianship in this mainstream framework. The album does limp out of the gate with a pair of troubling tunes: “Fearless” rides a deep-burning, Jamiroquai-styled disco-funk groove built on canned strings, fat synth-bass and four-on-the-floor drums, but Mutlu Onaral’s belted vocals push the vibe into full-blown campiness. Meanwhile, “I’ve Been a Fool (Toy Guns)” fails to build on its compelling vocal hook, grinding out a tedious, one-note bass riff.

After that false start, Eat the Light finds its funky footing with the title track, a riotous homage to Talking Heads’ “Moon Rocks.” Gabe Otto, who handled the David Byrne role during Lotus’ “Deconstructed” live shows, yelps in vintage Speaking in Tongues style over an assault of synth, organ and washed-out marimba—then, for variety’s sake, a half-time coda of space-rock guitar. Despite its blatant nods to the past (including another Talking Heads-styled funk master-class, the clavinet-driven party-starter “Sleep When We Are Dead”), Eat the Light feels mostly contemporary, full of stylish tunes that slot in nicely on a road trip playlist alongside acclaimed dance-pop/rock acts like LCD Soundsystem, Passion Pit and JR JR. After nine uptempo fist-pumpers, “Sodium Vapor” closes the album with a blast of simple, strummed alt-rock. “Turn on the bright lights, let everyone see,” chirps singer-songwriter Andy Bianculli, before a climactic surge of psychedelic guitar. That lyric feels pertinent. With Eat the Light, Lotus have made a convincing—and noble—bid for a broader spotlight.