La Jungle (2015), II (2016), Past // Middle Age // Future (2019), Fall Off the Apex (2021), Ephemeral Feast (2022), Blurry Landscapes (2023), La Jungle
I saw La Jungle on a tiny island thousands of miles from anywhere, blasting out tunes on a rickety makeshift stage in a fishing village. In that setting, the Belgian duo packed so much into so little time, drummer and guitarist frantically throwing themselves into a panicked and skilful blast of ferociously intense noisy-krauty-dance-punk. Sometimes a band can only be seen live. La Jungle, while never unenjoyable on record, has never quite matched that live ecstasy. The duo offer competent post-Lightning Bolt noise rock with bits of dance and electronics, but lack their live set’s mobility and glorious impatience. Some tracks will give you a taste of what La Jungle are about (the better albums are Past // Middle Age // Future and Ephemeral Feast), but they’re so much better in the flesh.
Pick(s): ‘Ape in a Python’, ‘Hahehiho’, ‘The Invisible Child’, ‘Feu L’Homme’, ‘Hallow Love’, ‘La compagnie de la chanson’