Nia Archives' second album, 'Emotional Junglist', is a self-assured blend of breakbeats and heartbreak, marking her as a brilliant British one-off. The album, released on Island Records, documents the protagonist falling in love at breakneck speed in its first half, followed by the whiplash of sudden heartbreak in the second.
A Unique Path to Stardom
Unlike many major artists, Archives carved out her own path. She left home at 16 to move into a youth hostel in Manchester, taught herself to make beats, and later studied music production in Hackney, using her student loan to fund her debut single. She made history as the first electronic/dance act to win a Mobo in decades after campaigning for dance music inclusion in 2022. Her 2024 debut album 'Silence Is Loud' earned her three Brit award nominations and a Mercury prize nomination, the first for a junglist since 1997.
Sophisticated Sound and Influences
'Emotional Junglist' feels like a more mature sister to 'Silence Is Loud', with stickier melodies and a more evolved record collection. Archives steps out with a full live band for the first time, giving the album heft with every bass throb, cymbal crash, and string swell. The album finds kinship in early 00s indie bands, with tracks like 'Around tha Bend' reminiscent of Bloc Party and 'Dance With Me 2Nite' evoking early Arctic Monkeys, thanks to collaborator James Ford. Both are underpinned by anxious rhythms that nod to DJ decks.
Emotional Depth and Collaborations
Archives isn't afraid to drop the BPM and wear her heart on her sleeve. The melancholic second half provides some of her best pop songs, such as the Dido-esque ballad 'Almost Always' and 'Lovers Grief', which blends gloomy indie rock with devastating lyrics. The album also includes sultry moments like 'Danger', which emerged from a Rihanna writing camp and features the neologism 'pussy-blushing'. Jorja Smith joins on 'Get Me Down', a feathery R&B track, while Sampha appears on 'Tender', a piano-drenched ballad about romantic fantasy cracking.
A Genre-Defying Project
While Archives has been seen as feminising jungle, 'Emotional Junglist' is more than that. It's an ambitiously expansive Gen Z project that puts jungle in conversation with myriad genres, weaving a narrative through them. Archives pulls it off cohesively, positioning herself as a curator, storyteller, and pop star.
