Emiliana Torrini - Jungle Drum

Once upon a time tracks like this were prime advertising fodder – up beat, easy to take rock n roll with a pinch of the unusual. In this case that ‘unusual’ element is Emiliana venturing into impersonating the jungle drum of which she sings, which equates to scatting: without the minor confusions Scatman John caused in young children across the land.

Torrini’s latest track does little justice to her talents as a purveyor of some lushly warm and fulfilled back drops, the vast amount of which edge on the Norah Jones-meets-Bjork side of life. For ‘Jungle Drum’, however, she is in attack mode and the first throes of love as the lyrics suggest and the bass jumps along with some fine shuffle drumming. As the scat takes over the pop-perfected melody, her voice truly shines and although laced with a cattle prodded seal of ‘hit’, this Icelandic wonder might like to keep her riches that slight bit obscured to really get hearts ‘a thumping.