The Jungle Giants‘ gradual shift from indie rock to electronic dance has officially landed with their new album Love Signs, a 10-track collection of groovy beats and sunny hooks which will win you over.
Long-released lead singles “Heavy Hearted”, from July 2019, and “Sending Me Ur Loving”, from January 2020, offered a strong message of what was to come.
Back-to-back number eight placings in Triple J’s Hottest 100 was an indication that fans liked the shift too, and Love Signs builds on that, offering more of the good stuff.
Lead singer Sam Hales wrote and produced Love Signs, which started after the Brisbane four-piece returned from a world tour in early 2020 on the eve of the global shutdown to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Love Signs is the Jungle Giants’ first album in four years and their fourth long-play. Their popularity has catapulted in the last few years, courtesy of tracks such as “Feel The Way I Do” and “Used To Be In Love” from 2017’s Quiet Ferocity.
Hales stars on the album’s title track and opener which is about the subtle physical and digital messages we send each other, hence “Love Signs”. The track is lifted with the gentle falsetto chorus. Lyrically this is Hales’ strong point on the LP and it would be great to hear more of these modern observations.
Third single and third track “In Her Eyes” bops along at a danceable pace backed by a fuzzy bassline, before the previously released “Sending Me Ur Loving” shines again with that overlay of synth and feel-good love lyrics.
The urgency of “Heartless” is electric while “Charge My Phone” and “Here I Come”, which sandwich “Heavy Hearted” ensure the dance vibes don’t stop. “Here I Come” climaxes emphatically and triumphantly as Hales wails the title amid whetted synths and elastic drum beats.
The Jungle Giants have clearly moved in a new direction, reminiscent of Pnau on the lead single amid the punchy chorus, while there are shades of Brisbane compatriots Last Dinosaurs throughout with their edgy vocals and electronic hooks too.
Love Signs is an upbeat and welcome shift from The Jungle Giants, delivering a 10-track that doesn’t relent with its danceability, that borders on pop, due to its simple charm.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Love Signs is out now.
The Jungle Giants are touring nationally. Tickets via their website HERE
Fri 3 Sept – The Goods Shed, Hobart
Sat 4 Sept – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne (lic/aa)
Fri 10 Sept – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide (lic/aa)
Sat 11 Sept – Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle
Sat 18 Sept – Riverstage, Brisbane (lic/aa)
Fri 24 Sept – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (lic/aa)
