12 September 2018
Newsdesk
As they countdown to the release of their highly-anticipated second album FOR EVER on Friday, JUNGLE today release a brand new track from the album: ‘BEAT 54 (ALL GOOD NOW)’. Following on from the success of previous AA sided singles ‘HAPPY MAN / HOUSE IN LA' and ‘HEAVY, CALIFORNIA / CHERRY’, ‘BEAT 54 (ALL GOOD NOW)’ is a perfect distillation of JUNGLE'S sound – the kind of escapist, anthemic, mercurial funk that made us all fall in love with the band the first time round but this time more expansive, sophisticated and cinematic than ever before.
JUNGLE'S second album FOR EVER will be released on 14TH SEPTEMBER via XL RECORDINGS. It’s the follow-up to their acclaimed self-titled debut, released in July 2014, which featured a succession of neo-soul classics and quickly became the aspirational sound of young London. The whole thing was dreamed up by JOSH "J" LLOYD WATSON and TOM “T” MCFARLAND, a production and multi-instrumentalist duo who never expected to leave their bedroom studios, far less become the core of a talent-filled seven-strong collective that morphed into a killer live outfit. Cue online word-of-mouth and IRL buzz, rave reviews, a MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE nomination, songs of the summer, viral videos, NOEL GALLAGHER declaring the album “fucking amazing”, half a million sales, burgeoning DJ careers and a global tour that lasted two solid years.
While JUNGLE'S first album was their imaginary soundtrack to the places they had never been, FOR EVER is inspired by real life experiences of the places they’d dreamed of for so long. Swapping Shepherds Bush for the Hollywood Hills, J and T set up camp in Los Angeles to write and record the album. Over time however, their romanticization of The Californian Dream clashed with the reality of actually living it, the feeling of being adrift on the West Coast compounded by the collapse of long-term relationships. Returning home to London, they teamed up with highly regarded young producer INFLO where they sought to create a "post-apocalyptic radio station playing break up songs”, whittling down loads of ideas this concept spawned into a core 13 tracks. That station and those songs and that journey are the sound of FOR EVER. They had to go away to come home. And what J and T lost in love, they gained in music. For Ever is for real, deeper and higher, more intimate and more expansive, feelgood and, just occasionally, feelbad. It is, then, a proper second album.
For Ever Track List:
1. Smile
2. Heavy, California
3. Beat 54 (All Good Now)
4. Cherry
5. Happy Man
6. Casio
7. Mama Oh No
8. House In LA
9. Give Over
10. Cosurmyne
11. Home
12. (More and More) It Ain’t Easy
13. Pray
