Jungle — Volcano — Album Review
Funk | Dance | Soul
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Though I had dabbled in and out of their music for a while before, it wasn’t until the summer of 2021 which I first started fully delving into the music that came from the London-formed electronic music project known as Jungle.
My full-fledged discovery of their music came in the form of their third studio album Loving In Stereo, an album that took not time at all to win me over to their soulful goodness. Through that album especially, I quickly came to really appreciate just how unique the collective of artists sounded, particularly regarding their indie-spiced brand of danceable neo-soul.
That combination of genres in question clearly made for an atmosphere perfect for the summer, which is why I’m glad to see that Jungle’s brand new album was released in the same kind of time-frame of the year as its predecessor.
Sporting the familiar design tropes of Jungle’s last three album covers, only this time with a vibrant orange background, the group’s fourth studio album, titled Volcano, presented itself as a project that was going to bring the group’s signature-feel good style in an even more energetic fashion.
This sentiment only seemed more concrete with the release of Jungle’s first teaser track for the album titled “Candle Flame”, which was released back in April. On top of bringing a truly warm and upbeat energy to listeners, Jungle also brought us Erick the Architect for that little extra punch that it needed.
Following that, Jungle kept releasing a steady flow of teaser tracks to follow, including the indulgent “Dominoes”, the ambient “I’ve Been In Love”, and the super-funky and addictive sound of “Back On 74”. The main thing that all these tracks had in common, of course, is that they absolutely carried that warm and hazy summer feel in spade-loads.
And following what was a pretty miserable July weather-wise, the arrival of Volcano as an album in full thankfully managed to align with the warm weather finally making a return for one last round.
It’s certainly safe to say, that Volcano absolutely lives up to the what came before it, when it came to spreading those feel-good summer vibes.In fact, I would argue that, in terms of being a summer album as a standalone factor, Volcano has done one of the best jobs of this in the grander scheme of 2023 albums.
The energy was certainly there as well, in comparison to the likes of Loving In Stereo, Volcano definitely leans towards the more danceable qualities of what Jungle champion. Another thing to mention as well, was that Jungle somehow managed to get Roots Manuva on this thing as a feature on “You Ain’t No Celebrity” (though I wish he was given more to do on the track).
And though what Volcano offers is marvellous for the most part, this lean towards danceability does come as a bit of a double-edged sword in the case of Volcano. Looking back on the album that came before it, and comparing the two, it was clear that Loving In Stereo simply offered way more versatility when it came to its moods, to the point where it really twisted the idea of being tied to a specific genre.
And while Volcano is still remarkably enjoyable, it is still far easier to pinpoint its influences, thus resulting in a more predictable sounding album, albeit one that will likely be more accessible. I mean, if that was the aim with this album, it should certainly work.
In conclusion, while I feel that Volcano does see a little bit of a detraction form the truly unique musical identity of Jungle, it still does a fantastic job of being that red-hot dose of summer that every person living through that miserably rainy and surprisingly cold July needed.
Favourite Tracks: Candle Flame | Dominoes | Back On 74 | Problemz
Least Favourite Track: Coming Back
Caiola Records | AWAL Recordings
