Nia Archives – Emotional Junglist Album Review (AOTM August)

Nia Archives released her debut album Silence Is Loud two years ago. It immediately caught my attention with a combination that felt completely fresh to me: pop melodies and song structures fused with wild jungle beats. It was a strong introduction to an exciting new artist, although at times the album felt a little hectic and occasionally overwhelming.

On her second album, Emotional Junglist, Nia Archives sounds like an artist who has managed to preserve her unique sound and style while finding a greater sense of balance and confidence in what she does.

The album opens with the relatively heavy Feelingz Go Numb, a track driven by a particularly frantic jungle beat. At the same time, it introduces the more melancholic tone of the record and hints at its broader, more ambitious production. If the opening track doesn’t immediately win you over, I would still encourage you to keep listening, because there is a lot more to discover.

The album is packed with memorable melodies that stand out against the tight jungle rhythms, or rather, weave everything together in a beautifully cohesive way. Beyond the beats and vocal melodies, guitars play a significant role throughout the record. The songs are filled with excellent guitar loops and melodic lines, and the guitars often inhabit a space reminiscent of British rock from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Although the album contains 15 tracks, its total running time is only 40 minutes. In many ways, this is one of its greatest strengths. Most of the songs maintain a firm grip on the listener’s attention while avoiding fatigue, despite the intensity and energy of the beats.

The first four songs largely explore similar territory, making This Could Be… feel especially refreshing. It is a straightforward pop song that reminded me of Lily Allen. The chorus melody is somehow both comforting and uplifting. Dance With Me 2nite falls into a similar category and perhaps doesn’t quite reach the same level as the rest of the album, but structurally it still serves an important purpose.

Get Me Down, featuring Jorja Smith, is one of the album’s most stunning moments. The way their voices blend together is simply extraordinary. The entire track feels like a beautiful homage to the soundscape of 2000s electronic music. Another standout is The Darkest Hour, a song that perfectly captures the atmosphere suggested by the album’s title. The mood is captivating, and it’s the kind of track you could listen to on repeat for as long as your headphones stay charged, your electricity bill remains paid, and your employer doesn’t notice you’ve disappeared into its hypnotic spell.

Emotional Junglist shows how far Nia Archives has come in a short time. She has refined her sound without smoothing away its distinctive edges, creating a record that is energetic, emotional, and consistently engaging from start to finish.

Release Date: July 17, 2026
Nia Archives – Emotional Junglist
Album of the Month by Cuberat