Jungle’s ‘Volcano’ tour charms at the Kia Forum
The music duo’s fun and funky L.A. concert is the third of their world tour.
By CJ HADDAD
In a stadium-wide party that stole hearts straight from the opening act, fans poured into the Kia Forum to watch, dance and listen to British funk duo Jungle perform its new studio album, “Volcano,” Thursday night.
“Volcano,” released on Aug. 11, comes two years after Jungle’s last LP “Loving in Stereo,” which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart. Almost a month into the album’s drop and with the tour’s first leg firmly kicked off, Jungle’s fourth release proved to be lighthearted and energetic, with concertgoers even in the upper stands of the Forum able to be seen dancing with friends and refreshments.
The show featured an impressive red-striped lighting display, with the center screen alternating between a digital disco ball and a feed of featured artists as they appeared on stage for their verses. A set of small stairs spanning the stage allowed the duo, made up of lifelong friends Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland, to change up their moves and rotate instruments alongside talented collaborators all night.
Even before the two took the stage, opening artist Joesef left a lasting impression as soon as the lights went down. Keeping the setup simple and playing in front of the red curtain with a soothing band swaying in unison during his songs, the up-and-coming Scottish indie singer left the audience laughing from the occasional joke between songs.
“This next song is about shagging my ex,” Joesef said to the audience before performing his 2023 hit, “Just Come Home With Me Tonight.” “Don’t f–king judge me, okay … She knows!”
“Permanent Damage,” his debut album, was released earlier this year, charting at #2 on the Scottish albums chart and #18 on the UK chart. Joesef also chose to include a cover of Sister Sledge’s “Thinking of You” in the middle of the set, asking the audience to dance while saying that if they didn’t know him, they’d know the group’s evergreen song. Singing in a beautiful tone, both his originals and the Sister Sledge cover proved Joesef’s undeniable talent, putting the audience in an even better mood for Jungle’s appearance.
The duo brought many hits like “Casio” and “Heavy, California” to their funky show as the audience danced and cheered. (Mateo Villalba-Mutis / Daily Trojan)
The main act started with the new album’s releases, with the duo’s more beloved hits from earlier years like “Casio,” “Beat 54 (All Good Now)” and “Heavy, California” filtered throughout the setlist.
Compared with Jungle’s earlier projects, “Volcano” features more upbeat songs with funk and soul elements, compared to half-time tracks and ballads more common in their first and second albums. In an interview with NME, Lloyd-Watson described the process as different this time around, starting the production process with melodies and harmonies first instead of beats and rhythms.
“There’s other projects for [half-time songs],” Lloyd-Watson said. “People come to Jungle because they [want] to have a good time. It was this Chic and Daft Punk thing, somewhere between the two of them.”
Highlights included feature performances from the album’s previously released singles, including Brooklyn rapper-producer Erick the Architect on “Candle Flame” and groovy techno artist Channel Tres singing his opening verse on “I’ve been in Love.” The two songs have garnered more than 25 million plays on Spotify alone as of Monday — and had the crowd eager and excited as they stepped onto the stage.
But the most impressive collaborator on Thursday’s stage, alongside the talented guests and guitarists sharing the podium, was Jungle’s longtime vocalist, Lydia Kitto. She’s lent her voice to several of the duo’s songs since the release of its single “Keep Moving” in 2021, with a prominent amount of time given throughout most of the album’s 44 minutes.
A multi-instrumentalist, Kitto not only added a beautiful melody to the proceedings and danced up and down the stage but also switched mid-song to perform a few flute solos found in the more fast-paced songs in the LP, including the lead-off track “Us Against The World.”
Of course, a concert can’t end without an encore, and Jungle delivered a lengthy one to savor — including “Keep Moving,” a few final selections from “Volcano,” and its long-popular hit “Busy Earnin.’” Audience members in every section of the stadium held up phone flashlights to ease the group back out after its initial goodbye, forming a glittering, memorable array across the whole floor.
The pair, trading different guitars through the evening and encore, brought the night home with passionate solos, at times climbing onto the top of two stage blocks where the crowd met the podium. With Kitto’s musical mobility, the supporting instrumentalists and a group of excellent features throughout the “Volcano” release, it was easy to show the Kia Forum that not only were the songs enjoyable for the ever-dancing listeners that night, but that the group and duo itself truly enjoyed playing in each other’s upbeat company.
