It's hard for any band to make the old sound completely new, but Jungle has spent much of the past decade transforming vintage soul and R&B into something almost alien. The grooves are deep and warmly familiar, with wistful reflections on love and longing. But even in the brightest moments, there's often a thread of mystery and melancholy that leaves you questioning whether everything is as it seems.
Fronted by the trio of Tom McFarland, Josh Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto, Jungle is known for fluid live sets, with songs that spill into each other. True to form, at the Tiny Desk, they perform more than a half-dozen tracks that run together in a single, continuous groove. "We're gonna keep the music rolling," Lloyd-Watson tells the NPR crowd as the band melts seamlessly from 2018's "Beat 54 (All Good Now)" into "Dominoes" from the 2023 album Volcano.
The members are all smiles here, even as they sing about faded dreams ("Casio"), dead-end infatuations ("Someday, Somewhere") and the struggle to hold on when everything falls apart ("The Wave"). The most animated and infectious moment arrives about halfway through the set, as the group showcases its stunning six-part harmonies on the 2025 single "Keep Me Satisfied," before closing with a moody, slow-burning take on 2023's breakout song, "Back on 74."
SET LIST
- "Someday, Somewhere"
- "Beat 54 (All Good Now)"
- "Dominoes"
- "The Wave"
- "Keep Me Satisfied"
- "Casio"
- "Back on 74"
MUSICIANS
- Lydia Kitto: vocals, guitar
- Josh Lloyd-Watson: vocals, guitar
- Tom McFarland: vocals, keys
- Lucy Kitto: keys, background vocals
- Geo Jordan: bass, background vocals
- George Day: drums
- Will Fry: percussion
- Kwaye: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Robin Hilton
- Director/Editor: Maia Stern
- Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell
- Creative Director: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Alanté Serene
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Tiny Desk Team: Kara Frame, Felix Contreras
- Copy Editor: Daoud Tyler-Ameen
- Photographers: Michael Zamora, Lexy Beale
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
Copyright 2026 NPR
