Loving in Stereo
by Jungle
  • Record Label: AWAL
  • Release Date: Aug 13, 2021
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. The Line of Best Fit
    Aug 11, 2021
    90
    Loving In Stereo is a wholehearted triumph for Jungle, yet again delivering something fresh and distinctive to cut through today’s music landscape.
  2. PopMatters
    Aug 10, 2021
    90
    These are tunes for the head as much as the body and offer a grander perspective on the dignity of human feelings, like putting a still life in a gilded frame. Overall, the songs on the new album are short. Most are under three minutes. However, one can easily imagine extended versions of each as they lend themselves to being set on repeat on repeat on repeat. It’s time to open the disco.
  3. AllMusic
    Aug 17, 2021
    80
    Jungle are at their most elevated throughout Loving in Stereo, in terms of both creativity and the general tone of the album. The songs are exploratory and fun, exuding energy and positivity and resulting in some of the group's best work to date.
  5. No Ripcord
    Aug 16, 2021
    80
    Loving In Stereo has flashes of talent beyond its most showy jewels. There's a seventies aura that stains each verse, beat, and falsetto, as they channel a post-pandemic, Studio 54 vibe on tracks like What D'You Know About Me?, Bonnie Hill, and Fire. On the latter, bass lines take over and flare with fiery excitement. Loving in Stereo is the first album that Jungle releases through their own independent label Caiola Records. It feels like they're moving forward.
  6. DIY Magazine
    Aug 12, 2021
    80
    Ihe duo’s latest project is a barrage of positivity with a collection of upbeat anthems perfect for a sun-soaked summer of love.
  7. Mojo
    Aug 10, 2021
    80
    Bristling with hooks, this thoroughly enjoyable set deserves to be spilling out of open windows wherever it's summer. [Sep 2021, p.81]
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  8. New Musical Express (NME)
    Aug 10, 2021
    80
    ‘Loving In Stereo’ might not quite satiate as fully after the delicious hooks of its lead singles, but in elevating Jungle’s pulse overall, McFarland and Lloyd-Watson have captured what feels like a natural and necessary progression – and a fun, danceable one at that.
  9. Clash Music
    Aug 13, 2021
    70
    Despite having occasionally moments of deflation, ‘Loving In Stereo’ is more refined than past work. Loaded with retrospective jams and summery hits alike, the record leaves their growth open to further exploration.
  10. Uncut
    Aug 10, 2021
    70
    Jungle's well trusted blend of neo-R&B, French Touch and retro-disco gains new zest on the duo's third album thanks to stylistic detours into acid-jazz classiness and David Axelrod-style psych splendour. elsewhere the formula wears a little thinner . [Sep 2021, p.28]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. bertobellamy
    Aug 13, 2021
    7
    Jungle's least exciting album to date, but not bad at all. There are some risky moves here — like guest singers and even a guitar-driven songJungle's least exciting album to date, but not bad at all. There are some risky moves here — like guest singers and even a guitar-driven song —, but also two or three very generic or dull. Singles, of course, are dancefloor bangers.… Full Review »
  2. Kremyy
    Jan 19, 2022
    10
    My fav album of the year. So energetic, melodic, really makes me feel alive. I would say it is even better than their debut. Will sound evenMy fav album of the year. So energetic, melodic, really makes me feel alive. I would say it is even better than their debut. Will sound even better live.… Full Review »
  3. RoyalKempix
    Jan 6, 2022
    8
    Imagine introverted funk of 2014's Jungle and joyous neo-soul of 2018's For Ever come together and create a perfectly balanced, 40-minuteImagine introverted funk of 2014's Jungle and joyous neo-soul of 2018's For Ever come together and create a perfectly balanced, 40-minute musical fiesta, full of incredibly catchy tunes, mesmerizing falsetto vocals, groovy beats and upbeat rhytmes, which seems to appear just-in-time to save this summer!

    While in the case of the previous albums there were too big imparity between singles and the rest of the tracks, which each time left the feeling of listening to a bit one-sided album, here i feel like we got a perfection. Literally there is no track that misfits to the rest. Not only did Jungle manage to finally make of their full potential, but also added something extra to the elements we knew from their previous releases. Songs like Talk About It and Truth were completely unexpected for me, yet extremely enjoyable. Jungle revealed most energic side of their work since Busy Earnin', enriched by some guitar riffs and drums hooks. Although on many tracks Jungle seem like coming back to the past (similarity between No Rules and Busy Earnin' is not too hard to notice), there are some parts that sound completely fresh and I love this experimentation. Loving in Stereo is also fostered by first collaborations of the band - easy-going rapper Bas on Romeo and gentle singer Priya Ragu on Goodbye, My Love. Both doing a great job and even more versatility to already fantastic piece of work. There are superb songs everywhere, but my favourite might be most disco track All of the Time, which, besides regular, catchy rhytm and flow offers very nostalgic and beautiful melody. It is truly a song for everyone and for everything: to dance, to relax and to reflect as well.

    Perfect album for this summer. With Loving in Stereo, Jungle establish themselves at the top of popular soul music and give a sign, that they may just starting to reveal their huge potential.    … Full Review »
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