Sunshine

There are some heaters, like "The Wave," "Move Like You Do," and "Where Are You Now," but overall, it's a bit of a soft, sanded down return from Jungle. Wonderful to have on in the background. Emotionally muted. I am missing a touch more fireworks, bigger risks. Lydia Kitto has become the voice of this band though, which I do appreciate as a development. There was something unsustainable about their vocal strategy before and it seems that they've broken through the ceiling now with Kitto at the helm. I just wish the songwriting was more compelling. Still, worth a listen.

An exercise tape counts off at the top of Move Like You Do, then the bassline shows up and does that rubbery Jungle thing where the groove leans a fraction ahead of the drums. Four bars and you know whose record this is. Sunshine is the first album made with Lydia Kitto as a full member rather than the voice they kept calling back, and it shows up structurally: she fronts the title track, Carry On, Reflection and the closer, so the stacked harmonies that used to live down inside the production now have somebody standing in front of them. Carry On drops the tempo, lets a jazz feel into the chords and puts something plainly confessional over the glossiest arrangement here, a pairing that should curdle and instead becomes the most disarming thing on the record. The Wave goes to Brazil, 60s and 70s rhythm under a soul-jazz base, the most intoxicating stretch. The control is also the argument against it. Volcano showed how much further this band could push, and Sunshine mostly chooses refinement over reach across eleven tracks and a little over half an hour. The group chant turns from decision into default by the third appearance. Then Heavy On My Soul arrives almost entirely acoustic, barely three minutes, and the groove the previous ten songs leaned on simply isn't there. Kitto sounds better with less around her, and somebody should have noticed earlier in the sequence.

While there is not a bad track on this entire album, it is a bit of a departure from the style that Jungle has embodied in their catalog thus far, and it leaves the listener wanting just a little more IMO. Solid album, just would have liked to hear a bit more energy.