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Jun 08, 2014 By Laura Studarus Jungle

A significant amount of ink has been spilt (and digital real estate allocated) to breaking down Jungle’s retro influences. It isn’t without merit. The band’s swinging big-band R&B plays like an old Motown record left in the sun. But the party they threw at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday night didn’t feel the least bit dated. Swinging hips and sloshing drinks are ageless. (To the couple next to me grinding so hard they almost unwillingly roped me into a threesome, I will offer this timeless retort: get a room.)

The British duo’s headlining set was brief. Obviously this was due in large part to logistics—a new band with a debut album that doesn’t street until July 15, they simply don’t have much material to work with. But it was also not hard to believe that members J and T simply don’t need much time to get their point across. Choruses are big. Earworms are welcome (dare you not to listen to the hook of “Busy Earin” without humming the horn part afterwards). And for the love of all that is good, dance, dance, DANCE. Not fully lighting the band on stage felt like a bit of a misstep—after all, music fans occasionally like to connect with the people behind the tunes. But with a set of songs that could easily content for some of the best of 2014, chances are the band’s bid for anonymity won’t last for long.

(www.junglejunglejungle.com)