Welcome to the Jungle (Neon Jungle album)

Welcome to the Jungle
Studio album by
Neon Jungle
Released28 July 2014
Recorded2013–2014
LabelRCA
Producer
Singles from Welcome to the Jungle
  1. "Trouble"
    Released: 1 September 2013
  2. "Braveheart"
    Released: 19 January 2014
  3. "Welcome to the Jungle"
    Released: 20 April 2014
  4. "Louder"
    Released: 20 July 2014
  5. "Can't Stop the Love[1]"
    Released: 15 December 2014

Welcome to the Jungle is the only studio album by British girl group Neon Jungle, released on 28 July 2014 by RCA Records.[2]

Critical reception

Welcome to the Jungle received mixed to positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who commended the group as a whole and their originality, whilst some felt they had not yet "found their sound".[3] Ally Carnwath of The Guardian called the album a "mixed bag, front-loaded with singles and with the requisite number of formulaic club bangers, but also containing some flashes of personality and nicely executed ideas".[4] Stoke Sentinel was more positive, saying that the album "has even more to give [with] no filler tracks here".[5] Helena Ho of Renowned for Sound gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and bemoaned its track listing, but she complimented individual tracks and called it "a solid debut from Neon Jungle, with a lot of ... standouts".[3]

Cover versions

The song "Waiting Game" by Banks was covered on Welcome to the Jungle without the singer's knowledge.[6] Her single of the song had debuted at No. 99 on the UK Singles Chart in January 2014[7] after being featured in a Victoria's Secret commercial,[8] and was due to be featured on her debut album, Goddess.[9]

Banks posted to her Facebook account that although the use of her song was apparently legal, she felt "really icky" that so personal a song had been used on another album before it could appear on hers.[6] Helena Ho described the Neon Jungle version as a "mess" that is "horribly over-sung and nowhere near captures the sultriness of the original",[3] while Rebecca Mattina was more positive, saying that while their version "doesn’t quite have the same deep and intense allure that Banks commands with her emotionally delicate vocals, I can’t deny the power Amira and Shereen bring to those runs at the end".[10]

The album also contains a cover version of Hozier's "Take Me to Church".[9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Braveheart"
More Mega3:44
2."Welcome to the Jungle"
soFLY & Nius3:34
3."Trouble"
Mathmatica2:32
4."Louder"
Blackwell3:24
5."Can't Stop the Love" (featuring Snob Scrilla)
  • More Mega
  • Wilkins
3:42
6."Bad Man"
  • Davis
  • Ray
More Mega3:29
7."Sleepless in London"
  • Davis
  • Ray
  • More Mega
  • Wilkins
3:14
8."Waiting Game"
  • Jax Jones
  • SOHN
3:03
9."So Alive"
Rogers3:14
10."Fool Me"
  • Blackwell
  • Argyle
  • John-Hartley
 3:13
Welcome to the Jungle — iTunes Store deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Future X Girl"
2:47
12."London Rain"
3:23
13."Fool Me" (Acoustic)
  • Blackwell
  • Argyle
  • John-Hartley
2:51
14."Trouble" (The Line of Best Fit Session)
  • Mathmatica
  • Berry
  • Blay
2:33
15."Take Me to Church" (Hozier cover)Hozier4:04
Welcome to the Jungle — iTunes Store pre-order bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Royals" (The Line of Best Fit Session)
3:44

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 48
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 8

See also

References

  1. ^ "Neon Jungle on Twitter: "We've got some big news to share with you…"". Twitter.
  2. ^ "Neon Jungle Announce New Song 'Louder', Debut Album Details – Big Top 40". bigtop40.com. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Renowned for Sound - Album Review: Neon Jungle – Welcome to the Jungle". 29 July 2014.
  4. ^ Ally Carnwath. "Welcome to the Jungle review – Neon Jungle's debut is a mixed bag | Music | The Observer". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  5. ^ Sentinel, The (1 August 2014). "CD reviews: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Neon Jungle, beck and Jenny Lewis". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  6. ^ a b "BANKS – People keep asking why I let Neon Jungle put my..." Facebook. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  7. ^ "UK Singles Chart: CLUK Update 18.01.2014 (wk2)". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  8. ^ Saad, Nardine (12 December 2013). "Watch extended cut of Victoria Secret models Paris commercial". L.A. Times. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  9. ^ a b "NME News 'Neon Jungle 'no comment' over claims they covered Banks song without artist's knowledge'". Nme.Com. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Track by Track Album Review: Welcome to the Jungle by Neon Jungle". AndPop. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Neon Jungle – Welcome to the Jungle". Hung Medien.
  12. ^ "Neon Jungle | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.