Nia Archives is back and better than ever with her second studio album, ‘Emotional Junglist’. An album true to its namesake, and sharpens the empire of sound that she has built so far: fast, euphoric jungle beats paired with tender, honest reflections of love, lust, and overthinking. Across fifteen songs, along with features from Jorja Smith and Sampha, she reinstates that drum & bass can do it all; dancefloor anthems and vulnerability - it can hit both at full speed.
While her debut album showcased a rising, powerful force in UK jungle culture to the world, and ‘Emotional Junglist’ feels like the moment Nia expands her blueprint. The album is louder, more ambitious, and more emotionally exposed. The mood changes from track to track, from bliss to contemplation, sometimes within the same track. Nia perfectly soundtracks the highs of falling in love and the crash and emotional spiral that follow.
‘Feelingz Go Numb’ and ‘Around tha Bend’ open the album and cement it in its drum & bass sound. ‘Danger’, however, which has already been released as a single, is a kick in the guts with immediate intent. It is simply pure festival fuel built for sweat, strobe lights, and hands-in-the-air chaos.
Nia is quick to undercut adrenaline for softness and introspection. ‘This Could Be…’ and ‘Dance With Me 2nite’ lean into a tender palette where romance is uncertain but always warm and glowing. The rolling breaks and familiar drum sides give these songs some extra colour.
One of the album’s high points arrives with the anticipated collaboration with Jorja Smith. ‘Get Me Down’ is the kind of collaboration that, while it may feel obvious in hindsight, still lands with immense impact. Smith’s controlled vocals glide over Nia’s restless production. Overall, turning emotional tension into something ecstatic. It’s a rave track - yes, but one that lasts longer than what the dance floor was built for.
Midway through the record, the sound starts to shift. ‘Train of Thought’ captures the feeling of an ever-running, overthinking headspace with the looping repetition “Will you come back to me?” It lands somewhere between a mantra and panic, yet it never fully collapses into sadness, just a recurring thought with constant motion.
Elsewhere, ‘Superlust’ is arguably one of the album’s strongest moments, constantly evolving rather than being set in structure. It builds up, dips, and rebuilds again, creating the feeling of desire itself. ‘There Goes Ma Head’ is more experimental in sound and layers distorted guitar textures over breakneck percussion, posing the question as to how far Nia Archives’ sound can stretch beyond jungle frameworks.
While the album progresses, it shifts into a darker place. ‘Almost Always’ changes, both in pace and lyricism, into a lo-fi melancholy. Whilst ‘Tender’, another highly anticipated collaboration with Sampha, is raw and stripped down into something intimate. The vocal pairing of these two artists is soft, powerful, and portrays two voices meeting with the same emotion but not competing for space.
‘The Darkest Hour’ and ‘Lovers Grief’ reinforce the reflective portion of the album before the electric ‘Boys in Blue’ closes the album in a surprising fashion. It’s different from Nia's other songs. It’s gritty, guitar-driven, and a punk anthem in its energy. Feeling like an incredible left turn of what's to come rather than a neat and tidy conclusion.
If there's any criticism to be made, it’s that ‘Emotional Junglist’ is almost too top-heavy and front-loaded. The opening stretch hits hard and repeatedly, which automatically sets a bar that, on occasion, the rest of the album struggles to meet in immediacy. However, even that speaks to Nia’s ambition rather than any real flaws or weaknesses.
All in all, ‘Emotional Junglist’ is exactly what the title of this album suggests. It is intimacy, feelings, and emotional overload that have been translated into a floor-pumping club sound. It strengthens in its contradiction and lets listeners know that Nia Archives is not just shaping jungle and drum & bass but stretching the soundscape of dance music with emotion and what that can actually sound like.
Mia Samson
Image: ‘Emotional Junglist’ Official Album Cover
If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider buying us a coffee. The money from this pot goes towards the ever-increasing yearly costs of running and hosting the site, and our "Writer Of The Month" cash prize.