Jungle

Loving in Stereo

Jungle

Jungle launch their own Caiola Records with a 14-track funk-soul statement — their first with guest features, and their most confident record yet.

The artwork for the album Loving in Stereo by Jungle

Jungle — the London duo of Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland — release their third album, Loving in Stereo, today, and it’s a record with a story attached. It marks the launch of the pair’s own Caiola Records imprint, run in partnership with AWAL, and it arrives with their first ever guest features, a number-one spot on the UK Independent Albums Chart already secured and a Metacritic score of 81 to its name. After the inward-looking sprawl of 2018’s For Ever, this is Jungle sounding properly reset.

The features are the big talking point. Romeo brings in Bas, whose unhurried verse glides over a muted, rubbery bassline and the duo’s trademark talkbox stabs, while Goodbye My Love hands the lead to Sri Lankan-Swiss singer Priya Ragu, her warm, soulful delivery curling around a shuffling groove and gospel-tinged harmonies. Neither guest upstages the band’s own vocals — the stacked, glassy choral sound that has defined Jungle since their debut remains the beating heart of everything here.

Character-wise, Loving in Stereo leans harder into funk than anything the pair have done before: wah-wah guitars, clipped disco strings, hand percussion and syrup-thick basslines sit shoulder to shoulder with their gentler, downtempo side. It’s a record that flits between floor-filling groove and sunset balladry, and it’s all the richer for it.

Jungle

Loving in Stereo was Jungle's first album on their own Caiola imprint.

Lead single Keep Moving remains the peak — an irresistible call-and-response hook, a rolling four-to-the-floor kick and a talkbox melody that’s impossible to shake. All Of The Time is silkier, its slow-burning pads and warm bass wrapping around a deceptively simple chorus, while Truth and What D’You Know About Me? show the duo’s softer side without ever tipping into schmaltz. Closer Can’t Stop The Stars stretches out over shimmering pads and a patient, pulsing groove — a fitting sign-off. With 14 tracks there’s the occasional mid-album lull, but the high points are remarkably high.

Loving in Stereo is Jungle’s most confident, most complete record yet — their first to truly sound like a band. Running their own label clearly suits them: every choice feels considered, from the guest list to the sequencing, and the funk-soul core is played with real warmth and restraint. A worthy fresh start.