Gwilym Mumford 

Jungle at Glastonbury 2014 review – attention-grabbing futurist soul

If their laser-honed indie R&B felt too precise, Jungle showed enough invention and energy to get a massive crowd moving, writes Gwilym Mumford
  
  

Jungle performing on the John Peel Stage
Unmasked … Jungle on the John Peel stage, Glastonbury. Photograph: BBC Photograph: BBC

Where and when: John Peel stage, 1pm.

Dress Code: Top knots, John Lennon glasses and a light smattering of mud.

What Happened: Meteorologists have predicted a Glasto washout, yet at 1pm the sun is having a decent stab at shining. So why is a massive crowd congregated under the decidedly humid canvas of the John Peel? To catch the most breathlessly hyped band of the moment, of course. Jungle initially attracted column inches for their carefully observed period of anonymity (names were withheld, press shots eschewed). Six months on and with a self-titled album imminent, T and J are now out in the open, though the endless walls of artificial smoke here suggest that the duo, flanked by a pair of well-coiffed backing singers and a relentless rhythm section, are still not completely comfortable with showing their faces.

Even so, the futurist soul on show is attention-grabbing enough to make up for that fact. This is laser-honed indie R&B, its pinched falsettos and restless, Blood Orange-like rhythms meticulously designed to get people moving. For the most part, such as their performances of singles Busy Earnin' and Time, that works a treat, though occasionally it feels a little too precise – a few too many tracks wash past in a mid-tempo haze. But these are early days for Jungle, and there's enough invention and energy on show to suggest they might soon be king of the swingers.

High Point: Lucky I Got What I Want, which got the crowd dancing like Mowgli.

Low Point: The sense of repetition as the set drew on.
In a Tweet: Big crowd, big hair: Jungle are massive (though could do with writing a couple more big tunes).

 

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