If the British funk-soul collective ‘Jungle’ aren’t on your music radar, then adjust your sights! The British music press have dubbed them “the most exciting band in the world” and not surprising really – nominated for the BBC Sound of 2014, and a United States tour that sold out before they even had an official record out in America!
Their latest video, the incredibly infectious and joyful “Time”, is an appropriate teaser for their forthcoming self-titled debut album, Jungle, out Monday July 14, and tipped to be one of the hottest releases this year. Co-directed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch, along with founding member Josh Lloyd-Watson, the video sees two middle-aged man engaging in bouts of manic, joyful dancing. The dancing is indeed wonderful – a cross between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and the fight scene in “Beat It.”
Co-founder Tom McFarland talked to Rolling Stone about why the band doesn’t appear in their videos. “I’m quite a shy person,” he said. “A lot of new artists feel like they need to be very visible and have an opinion on things. But after years and years and years, after you’ve released great album after great album, that’s when you’ve got your platform to say what you want. With the visual side of things, we just loved the idea of people dancing to our music, and we found some really cool people who could do that incredibly well, in a really rare way.”
Jungle is out through XL on July 14th, and can be streamed via iTunes for the duration of the week leading up to its release.
