On paper this should be classed as ‘not my sort
of thing’, but it is way too good to be pigeon-holed. At its heart, Jungle is a 70s funk record (in the sense of mid-tempo R&B
style funk), but there’s loads of ideas chucked into that mix. The unique dual-falsetto vocals of Messrs McFarland and Lloyd-Watson gives the tracks a sense of
depth, and the song-writing is, on the stronger tracks at least, outstanding. It does very much feel like a debut record,
in the sense that it is full of vitality passion, but also in the sense that it
feels a bit thin (Jungle clearly had
8 or 9 amazing songs, but put out a record with 12 tracks on it – there are a
few notably weaker tunes here). When
it’s good, it’s exceptional: ‘Lemonade Lake’ is weird and exploratory, ‘Julia’
is soaring, ‘The Heat’ is an immediate funky-dance classic, and stand out
single ‘Busy Earnin’’ is my favourite track put out by anyone this year. Great live, and plenty of promise for album
2, at its best this is an astounding record: another extremely worthy Mercury
Music Prize nominee.
sample
track: Busy Earnin’