On the Jungle Floor (CD - 2006)

Personnel: Van Hunt (guitar, keyboards, drums); Van Hunt (vocals, various instruments); Bill Bottrell (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Curtis Whitehead, George Gordon (guitar); Alyssa Park, Serena McKinney, Songa Lee, Katia Popov, Robin Olson, Barbara Porter, Roberto Cain, Joel Derouin, Mark Robertson , Sid Page, Jacqueline Brand, Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Natalie Leggett, Phillipe Levy, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Neel Hammond, Armen Garabedian, Berj Garabedian, Caroline Campbell, Mario Diaz de Leon, Endre Granat (violin); Matt Funes, Marlo Fisher, Han Oh, Brian Dembow, Danny Seidenberg, Darrin McCann, Samuel Formicola (viola); James Freebarin-Smith, Larry Corbett, Stephen Erdody, Armen Ksadjikian, David Low (cello); Daniel Solammon, Albert Wing (horns); Elizabeth Nation, Truth Hunt (keyboards); Tracy Williams, Lorenzo Whitehead, Brian MacLeod (drums).

Audio Mixer: Bill Bottrell.

Recording information: East Iris; Mouths Of Babes; Signet Sound; The Pass (Hey, Y'all!); Zero Return.

Photographers: Nathaniel Goldberg; Rick Diamond; Matt Jones .

Van Hunt's second album, ON THE JUNGLE FLOOR, finds the young singer-songwriter following an ever more ambitious and idiosyncratic path. As on his debut, he's still using a decidedly Prince-like 1980s R&B/pop-rock template as his starting point; at several points, the sexy synths, chugging guitars, and sinuous vocals evoke fond memories of 1999 (the album, not the year). Hunt doesn't leave it at that, though; JUNGLE FLOOR boasts a few straight-up rock moments as well, suggesting that he's been listening to some Strokes and Iggy Pop (the latter's "No Sense of Crime" gets a soul paint job here) amid his Morris Day and Terence Trent D'Arby sessions. Call it neo-soul if you must, but JUNGLE FLOOR represents a significant progression in the style. minimize