More about: Jungle

Jungle have come a long old way. Following a departure from shoegaze project Born Blonde ten years ago, the band’s early shows were shrouded in mystery, with the then-anonymous duo Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland performing from behind a curtain. Tonight’s gig at the Brixton Academy – one of of four consecutive nights in which they are the headline act – is quite the opposite, with a full six-piece band lit up on a ritzy, golden stage.

It’s a setting that suits their exuberant, bombastic music. Tonight’s victory lap comes after the release of their third record Loving in Stereo—their highest charting to date—and you feel that they finally have enough great songs to truly make the most of a night like this. New cuts ‘Keep Moving’ and ‘Talk About It’ merge seamlessly with old favourites ‘The Heat’ and ‘Julia’.

The feel-good, danceable sound Jungle have become known for does much of the heavy-lifting. It’s just as well really, because for all Jungle have achieved, they lack much in the way of stage presence. There’s a sense of disconnect between the band and the audience, not helped by the fact that they perform so far from the edge of the stage (a choice that may be necessary due to social distancing).

But more significantly, Lloyd-Watson and McFarland do little to engage the crowd – even through a climactic one-two punch of ‘Busy Earnin’’ and ‘Time’ at the close. In lieu of a proper frontman, you might suggest that they’d have been better off remaining behind the curtain.

More about: Jungle