Jungle
Sunshine
CAIOLA/AWAL
There’s a name for what London-based trio Jungle have done since 2013 after gathering themselves and a rotating cast of players: acid jazz. I know, you likely thought that Great Britain’s clarion clear and snapping late-1980s update on disco-jazz fueled by elements of hip-hop died by 1995 when The Brand New Heavies got light, Incognito became known, and Jamiroquai started doing that funny furry hat dance. Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland must have really loved such cheerful, upbeat funky happenstance, however, as every record they’ve made since 2014’s self-titled debut (and since 2021’s Loving in Stereo, with full-time vocalist and co-writer Lydia Kitto joining the ranks) has been more acidic, jazzy, and multi-layered than the one before it.
Which brings us to Jungle’s aptly titled fifth album Sunshine and its bright, brassy soundtrack to a late summer’s dusk into dawn. That means finding an Earth, Wind & Fire–like flicker to “Where Are You Now?” and its teamed-up, girl-boy vocalese, all while turning these tunes’ Maurice White–lite melodies into something sultry, smart, and 21st century sophisticated. Jungle even manages to update the ideals of chic neo-soul on “Natural” and Game Boy 8-bit technology in the same frame of mindless summer fun for their new album’s title track. All this sunshine and sap can be a bit much and samey without a black cloud—or even a grey-blue one—in the sky. But if it truly is a jungle out there, you could do worse than having it be the hot and happy place that Great Britain’s favorite disco ensemble inhabits.
