When you think of British seven-piece Jungle, the band’s deep bass, falsetto vocals, and propulsive, mid-tempo grooves are likely the first musical elements that spring to mind.
Though despite the striking nature of their modern-soul sound, co-songwriter Tom McFarland assures it's ‘connection’ that he and Josh Lloyd-Watson consider most important while composing. “And it’s amazing, how quickly you can connect with others.
"The album’s only been out for a month and already, we’ve seen people singing the lyrics to every song. It’s special.”
That album is ‘For Ever’, the band’s second record, released mid-September and already accumulating millions of listens on streaming services. “We definitely put more pressure on ourselves,” Tom admits.
“As an artist, you want each album to be better than the previous. And it took us a while to get this one right. Years in fact. But I feel like time’s irrelevant, as a creator. We wanted to write the best record possible. So we took as long as we needed.”
A tricky feat, considering the success of their 2014 debut ‘Jungle’. It comfortably sat in the upper echelons of charts across the world, thrusting the band onto festival stages and infiltrating playlists.
“It was weird. It was f...ing weird. There’s no denying that. But Josh and I had each other. We all had each other’s back – all seven of us in the band. No matter how weird sh.t gets, I always know we’re going to get through it together. We’re like a family. And I think that’s pretty rare.”
And Jungle asserted that ‘family’ status, conquering a tumultuous couple of years. Tom summarised 2016-2018 as “life happened. And life can be sh.t.
“People die. Girlfriends break up with you. And we almost threw it all in, Jungle-wise. But I feel like we really grew up during that two-year period.”
The creative result? An emotion-drenched collection of music brimming with heart-on-your-sleeve composing – a little darker than their debut, lyrically stemming from genuine love, sickness and grief.
“And I wouldn’t exactly say we planned to make that happen, either. They were simply the ideas that ‘stuck out for us’, that inspired us, when we were brainstorming and songwriting. Though we did, and always have wanted to make sure that all of our music had depth.”
Tom continues: “Composing can be [a] timely process. The core ideas are instantaneous. But they need the extra work and extra craftsmanship to come to life, to mimic the sounds in our heads. We like to attempt to keep it organic, as well. Always trying to write and express our emotions without the song then becoming too structured.”
Now, the band are bringing ‘For Ever’ to Australia for Jungle’s first headlining tour Down Under – an achievement Tom describes as a “massive step in their career”.
“Am I pumped? Of course I’m pumped. We’ve had so many incredible shows in Australia. We’ve performed at Falls Festival, Splendour In The Grass, Laneway Festival – but these will be our first headlining shows.
"To have made an impact on an audience from a country so far away from home, is really, really exciting.”
Jungle will perform in Fremantle, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in April 2019. “‘For Ever’ is deeper, it’s more rich, it’s more real, it’s more emotional, it simply sounds better, at least to us. We’ve grown as artists and songwriters, for sure.
"I just hope the music speaks to people – these tracks are quite personal. Makes it all the more poignant, when a room full of people are all feeling the same thing.”
'For Ever' is available now.
Jungle 2019 Tour Dates
Sun 21 Apr - Metropolis (Fremantle)Wed 24 Apr - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
Fri 26 Apr - The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane)
Sat 27 Apr - The Espy (Melbourne)* new show added 28 Feb
Sun 28 Apr - Forum Melbourne
