Reviews

Jungle at O2 Academy Live Review

Posted on: 2018-05-10

All the stabs were in the right place, all the samples were triggered authentically as in the record, all the vocal harmonies were tight and staccato, all the synth and guitar textures clean and lush.

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Glossy modern funk pop act Jungle gave a stylish return to prominence at the O2 Academy. Having just broken their four-year release silence by dropping two new singles and videos the day before, their electrifying performance was a timely reminder of what we’ve all been missing. Although a little one-dimensional, overall it was an exciting set.

It has been a wild time for Jungle since emerging with their debut album in 2014. With an unrelenting tour schedule and high-profile festival appearances, somehow they’ve managed to squeeze in enough time within the madness to write and record a hotly anticipated new album in the Hollywood Hills. ‘House In LA’ and ‘Happy Man’ were released on Wednesday, the first new material we’ve heard in four years, so the packed-out O2 Academy crowd on Thursday were perhaps more anxious than usual to see the band take the stage and dish out a dose of their fat wall-of-synth pop.

 

When the moment did finally arrive, the band’s all in white get up, silhouetted against the back-lit wall of bulbs behind them, their logo proudly glowing above, presented a pretty accurate visual rendering of their glitzy, super clean production sound they’re known for. Opening with what are now pop funk classics from their debut, ‘Julia’ and ‘The Heat’, their set was controlled but explosively groovy from the get go. The unmistakable sirens and spoken sample of the latter tune was met with a roar of approval from the crowd, before the funky verse groove kicked in and Jungle’s signature unison syncopated falsetto vocals from frontmen and production lynchpins Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland filled the room.

 

The new track ‘Happy Man’ then followed. Clearly most of the crowd were already well familiar with the day-old release and happily danced and sung along. To an unfamiliar ear though, it sounded more like a newly released B-side from their 2014 debut rather than a fresh single signalling a forthcoming body of work.

However, ‘House in LA’ later in the set, and another new track unreleased as of yet, did prove the band have expanded their sonic palette somewhat on their new material. A slightly more chilled, spacious groove gave the set a well-needed moment of breathing space.

 

Set highlight was definitely the reworking of their track ‘Drops’. A comparatively restrained moment of the album, live it was transformed into a peak of synth-fuelled intensity.  ‘Busy Earnin’, probably their biggest tune, and what sealed the deal for their success back in 2014, then followed, which totally blew up. Definitely the best hook in all their songs, and probably the most banging chorus too.

 

Since their last appearance in Bristol back in 2014, it appears their set has just got bigger. The crashes are bigger, the hits are bigger, the percussion player’s biceps are bigger. It’s just bigger. But still their controlled approach to music-making that is so central to their album production was very much evident throughout. All the stabs were in the right place, all the samples were triggered authentically as in the record, all the vocal harmonies were tight and staccato, all the synth and guitar textures clean and lush.

But perhaps this total slickness made the performance a little too clean. Its exciting when a band gets lost in the moment and the track picks up a little pace, taking the crowd with them. At times, the set sounded too steady, too perfectly in line with the bpm of the original track. Perhaps Jungle could allow themselves to deviate a little from perfection to give a more human and truly killer performance.

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