By Fenton Wright, Staff Writer
Full of longing for the past, “Let’s Go Back” by Jungle is one of those songs that makes you think of the happier times in a relationship that might not have worked out how you wanted it to. It reminds you just how much you were in love with that person and exactly how much time you wanted to spend with that person every single day, while simultaneously making us feel free to some extent.
Longing for Lyrics
The lyrics in Jungle’s “Let’s Go Back,” on top of reminding us of what our past relationships might have been like and how much we loved them, also project the image of just how much that special someone meant to you. Lyrics such as “You know I need you here,” make you think of just how much this person grounded you and made you feel whole again. It makes us want to recapture that feeling of groundedness and love that we might have only ever experienced that one time. That’s what this song serves to do, not necessarily make us want that relationship back, but make us want the feeling of being with someone that we love deeply. Other lyrics like “Why won’t you give me some of your time,” take us to those moments where all we wanted was to spend time with that person no matter how busy we may have been or how busy they may have been. The yearning for love and affection is evident throughout the entire song, bringing us into those intimate moments that we crave so much.
Won’t You Give Up Some Time to Watch the Music Video?
The music video for this song is definitely one that’s worth checking out. While not directly addressing any of the themes in the song, it is worth looking at strictly for the sake of how fascinating the entire routine is. The randomness of the dance routine feels freeing and like all of your stress has gone away. The people in the crates are all dressed differently, and the way that the man who originally breaks out ‘controls’ them all makes it an interesting watch.
It opens with a man walking through a warehouse carrying a crate that inside has a man who seemingly breaks out of the stasis that everyone else in the warehouse is stuck in. It leads to the man going to each crate and breaking the others out of stasis to join him in breaking free and joining the dance routine. The whole time that this is happening, the people that are a part of the dance routine are avoiding the man in the beginning that is organizing all of the crates as he walks around the warehouse listening to his own music. In the end he ends up getting all of the people back in the crates before closing them all and everything goes back to normal.
R&B and Soul Through A New Lens
Outside of the music video and the lyrics one of the most striking parts of this song is its use of a variety of old and new techniques that can be found in R&B and Soul music, while also leaning into more of an indie pop feel. The rapid pace of the song gives you the feeling of older R&B, but it incorporates instrumentals of pop music that backup the vocals of the song in a way to make it feel older than it is. The high-pitched vocals are also reminiscent of old-school R&B, with there being small shades of Marvin Gaye and other soul-based artists.
Enough Looking Back, What’s Next?
As much as this song wants us to look back, we have to ask: What’s next for Jungle? Currently the band is wrapping up their North American tour and moving to the European leg of it. “Let’s Go Back” is the first song that they have released since their 2023 album Volcano. As of recent, there has been no news on a new album or any new songs on the horizon. However with the success of “Let’s Go Back” fans can expect more music to be on its way soon!
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