Album Review: Jungle, For Ever

Father Fintan Stack’s favourite neo-soul group are back! This London collective rode the crest of the ‘Get Lucky’ wave that ushered in a new era, in which disco, soul and R&B are king, both in the clubs and on the streets. In fact they went all the way to a Mercury prize nomination for their self-titled debut in 2014.

Jungle were helped quite considerably by mega-hit ‘Busy Earnin’’, a genuine banger that appeared on the FIFA soundtrack and has been inescapable ever since. While there’s no hit of that proportion on follow-up For Ever, the quality count is still high. Single ‘Happy Man’ is the biggest thing here, its simple mantra – “Buy yourself a dream and it won’t mean nothing” – continuing the anti-materialistic vibe of ‘Busy Earnin’’.

Opener ‘Smile’ kicks things off with a tribalistic beat that drives the song into a volcanic eruption of vocals. It’s an instant highlight – one of the best soul album openers since the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Sacrilege’. The tempo slows on side B: the beats come closer to hip-hop on the likes of ‘Give Over’, and disappear altogether on interlude ‘Home’.

Soul music is all about fostering human connection through euphoric experiences, and one of Jungle’s issues is that while closer ‘Pray’ is a fine, funky composition, by that point their trademark distorted vocals have started to grate. Technically this is very fine, but it won’t quite bring you to your knees.

7/10

Out now.