Neon Jungle - Welcome To The Jungle (Album Review)
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Written by Gavin Rees
Neon Jungle, unlike so many of their contemporaries, aren’t afraid of the odd sharp edge. Their debut, which unsurprisingly cashes in on the ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ thing, features its share of beats capable of knocking a hole in the side of your head. What it doesn’t always have are the hooks to make them palatable.
Trouble, the band’s first chart success, and Braveheart, a #4 hit back in February, hinted at this, but in truth the problems run deeper than the singles, both of which deliver in the banger style that so rarely goes out of fashion.
The album’s ballads, notably Louder, which is tossed in at the top of the piece after three songs’ worth of dancefloor thud, are incongruous and never get beyond surface analysis. Still, they do offer a glimpse of the quartet’s vocal prowess, and in that department it’s hard to quibble.
Luckily, there’s also the odd dip into Katy Perry-style stadium-shaking theatrics and Can’t Stop The Love is perhaps the record’s best hope for a smash. Sleepless In London, too, rides its chorus groove to become a highlight.
Like so many modern pop records, ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ is meticulously executed and performed but glossy to a debilitating level. There are flashes of personality, some thunderous low end, the odd throwaway bad girl lyric and plenty of winning vocal performances, but it’s hard to get a handle on Neon Jungle. They’re almost spectres on their own album.
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