Review: Jungle

Preceded by a din of synthesized monkey cackles and and bird squawks, the band make an energetic arrival on stage, wordlessly taking to their instruments amidst the woops and cheers of an audience made to wait for two and a half hours.

Fronted by band leaders, known only by their MI6-like codenames, J and T, they quickly jump into the deep-end of their repertoire with hit single ‘The Heat’. A combination of rich synth jives and ’80s funk riffs coax the audience into motion, swaying uncertainly and nodding their heads in appreciation, waiting for the alcohol to sweep away any remaining inhibitions.

Dressed in matching black baseball jackets, Jungle consists of four white guys and two female backing singers – not quite what you might expect from their video releases on Youtube:

They have a quiet assurance for a group that has only two EPs and one single to their name. They don’t do much in the way of crowd engagement, only pausing occasionally to thank the audience for their cheers. But they seem comfortable and relaxed, gaining confidence with each song, still in the honeymoon period of being touring musicians, gracious and grateful for each clap – but perhaps people were saying that in the early ’90s about Oasis, and look what fame did to them:

The set progresses pretty seamlessly, with a few new tracks from the forthcoming album making the occasional appearance. The crowd slowly finds its confidence, the harem of baggy T-shirted girls at the front infectiously spreading their enthusiastic body jerking around the room, until even the oldies at the back can be seen shaking a limb or two.

But this congenial atmosphere of shared enjoyment is soon punctured as T, or J, announces that this song would be their last – having played for only 30 minutes. Our disappointment is poorly disguised causing J, or T, to respond sheepishly, “We’ve only got one album, sorry”.

But they can be forgiven. Despite its brevity, the performance is tight and the songs are sassy. And though perhaps not quite yet the finished article, Jungle seem well on their way to stardom.