JUNGLE

For Ever XL 7/10 London neo-soul outfit dig deeper on long-awaited second

If the self-titled 2014 debut from Tom McFarland and Josh Lloyd-Watson was Jungle’s songs of innocence, the follow-up is billed as their songs of experience. The euphoric rush of their first album won them Mercury and BRIT nominations and sold half a million copies, but the break-up of long-term romantic relationships and all the other usual strife of life has intervened, resulting in a follow-up that is more knowing and nuanced, although the expansive dance grooves remain uninhibited. If Earth, Wind & Fire had been transported from 1970s Chicago to 21st-century Shepherd’s Bush, they might indeed have sounded something like this.