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Jungle has always been built for movement, but on Emotional Junglist, Nia Archives proves it can also hold heartbreak. Since emerging with her meticulous, high-energy approach to the genre, the Bradford-born artist has honored jungle’s history while refusing to be limited by it. Her sophomore album takes the restless energy that made her a standout and turns it inward, creating her most vulnerable and fully realized project yet.

Following 2024’s Silence Is Loud, Emotional Junglist finds Nia looking beyond the dancefloor to explore the messiness of connection, desire, and loss. The album follows the arc of a relationship, from the rush of discovering someone new to the emptiness left behind when it falls apart. Rather than stepping away from the intensity that defines her music, Nia uses it to amplify those emotions.

Opener “Feelingz Go Numb” sets the tone immediately. Opener “Feelingz Go Numb” immediately throws the listener into Nia’s restless inner world. Racing percussion, fractured vocal loops, and sweeping strings collide as she wrestles with the feeling of losing control, turning emotional confusion into something built for the dancefloor. It establishes the album’s central tension: the body keeps moving even when the mind is struggling to keep up.

From there, Emotional Junglist captures the dizzying rush of falling for someone. “Danger” is one of Nia’s most fearless moments, pairing mischievous, flirtatious writing with skittering drums and sharp production that feels as unpredictable as new attraction itself. “Vertical” slows the pace without losing its intensity, transforming infatuation into something more vulnerable as Nia lets herself fully surrender to the feeling. Meanwhile, “This Could Be…” and “Dance With Me 2Nite” explore the softer side of romance, holding onto the fragile optimism of believing something might finally last.

But that sense of certainty doesn’t survive forever. As the album shifts into its darker second half, “Get Me Down,” featuring Jorja Smith, captures the hesitation that creeps in when desire and doubt exist at the same time. Their voices intertwine beautifully over delicate production, creating one of the album’s most tender moments before everything unravels. Later, Sampha joins Nia on “Tender,” a quieter moment that highlights the album’s emotional maturity. Instead of hiding behind the force of her production, Nia allows space for doubt, fear, and self-reflection.

The closing stretch finds her confronting the aftermath of that emotional collapse. “Almost Always” and “Lovers Grief” trade the excitement of the record’s opening moments for something heavier, as Nia examines the exhaustion that comes with trying to move forward. “Boys In Blue” delivers the final release, pairing furious guitar lines with relentless percussion as she transforms personal frustration into a moment of defiance.

What makes this record so exciting is how naturally Nia blends seemingly opposite worlds. Jungle, indie rock, pop, and R&B all exist together without feeling like separate experiments. She understands the history behind the sounds she draws from, but she is equally interested in where they can go next.

The result is an album that feels less like a tribute to jungle’s past and more like a glimpse into its future. Nia Archives has always understood the power of a great rhythm, but on Emotional Junglist, she reveals the emotions that make those rhythms matter.

Listen to Emotional Junglist below: