The Jungle Giants

The Jungle Giants are an Australian four-piece band, which formed in 2011 in Brisbane, Queensland. The band consists of Sam Hales on Vocals/Guitar, Cesira Aitken on Lead Guitar, Andrew Dooris on Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals and Keelan Bijker - Drums/Trombone. In 2011, the band were signed by record label Create/Control.^[1] The label has stated that "Brisbane’s The Jungle Giants have been on a roll since their single ‘Mr Polite’ took over the airways and YouTube in 2011. The 12 months following the single saw them hit the road playing countless shows across Australia."^[2] Their first album, Learn to Exist was released independently in August 2013.

Speakerzoid followed in August 2015. Speakerzoid is their most critically acclaimed album to date, with publications like Rolling Stone giving the album 4/5 stars.^[3]

Biography

All four members of The Jungle Giants attended the same high school (Mansfield State High School) in Brisbane. Singer-guitarist Hales, lead Guitarist Aitken and bassist Dooris were in opposing bands in their early years, and it wasn't until university that they came together to create The Jungle Giants. Soon after, Keelan Bijker signed on as drummer.

Lead singer Sam Hales spent 6 months working two jobs in order to fund their debut self-titled EP, which was released with local producer Yanto Browning in March 2011. The EP contained lead single "Mr. Polite" which has now reached over 800,000 views on YouTube.^[4]

Their follow-up five-track EP, She's a Riot, was released via Create/Control on 27 July 2012, drawing on life experiences and telling stories of friendships and relationships in Hales' life.

In late 2012, The Jungle Giants supported Last Dinosaurs' national Satellites tour with Twinsy. This was followed by an early 2013 tour with Two Door Cinema Club, playing a series of concerts throughout Australia along with The Vaccines.

On 26 January 2013, single "She's a Riot" ranked 83rd on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2012 ranking higher than Two Door Cinema Club and Snakadaktal.^[5]

In May 2013, The Jungle Giants released "I Am What You Want Me to Be", the first track off their debut album Learn to Exist, which was released 30 August 2013.^[6] The band also toured Australia to celebrate the release of the single in July 2013, including both headline performances and appearances at Splendour In The Grass 2013 & Spin Off Festival. The album received positive reception overall. It was a featured album on national radio station triple j in the week leading up to the release.

The Learn to Exist Album Tour played in all Australian capitial cities and many regional centres from 3 October to 30 November,^[7] extending the tour due to popular demand with extra shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.^[8]

In 2014, The Jungle Giants performed on the national Big Day Out touring festival alongside acts such as Arcade Fire and Pearl Jam. They were also announced shortly afterwards to perform on the national regional touring festival Groovin' the Moo in April & May 2014, which includes performances by Dizzee Rascal, Disclosure, and Karnivool. The band additionally announced headline performances as part of the "Tuss Tour" that will take place shortly prior to their Groovin' The Moo performances, performing in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.^[9]

On 13 March 2014, it was announced that The Jungle Giants would appear at Triple J's One Night Stand alongside RUFUS, Illy, Dan Sultan, Violent Soho and the local triple j Unearthed competition winner, WZRDKID.^[10] The event took place in Mildura, Victoria, on 17 May 2014. The entire event was broadcast live on Triple J.

In May 2017, their song "Come and Be Alone with Me" was featured in the trailer video for series 3 of Casual. In July 2017, they released their third studio album, Quiet Ferocity.^[11]

Band members

• Sam Hales – vocals, guitar
• Cesira Aitken – lead guitar
• Andrew Dooris – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Keelan Bijker – drums

Discography

Albums

• Learn to Exist (30 August 2013, Amplifire) #12 Australia^[12]
• Track listing
  1. "Come and Be Alone with Me" – 3:06
  2. "I Am What You Want Me to Be" – 3:24
  3. "Got Nothing to Lose" – 3:34
  4. "A Pair of Lovers" – 2:56
  5. "Truth May Hurt" – 5:37
  6. "Devil's in the Detail" – 4:22
  7. "Skin to Bone" – 3:34
  8. "She's a Riot" – 3:41
  9. "Domesticated Man" – 3:07
  10. "Anywhere Else" – 4:01
  11. "Home" – 3:18
  12. "I'll See You Tomorrow" – 3:08
  13. "Friend of Mine" (iTunes bonus track)
• Speakerzoid (7 August 2015, Amplifire) #25 Australia^[12]
• Track listing
  1. "Every Kind of Way" – 3:16
  2. "Devil's Play" – 4:33
  3. "Kooky Eyes" – 3:41
  4. "Lemon Myrtle" – 2:41
  5. "What Do You Think" – 3:55
  6. "Mexico" – 1:31
  7. "Creepy Cool" – 4:20
  8. "Not Bad" – 3:40
  9. "It Gets Better" – 4:14
  10. "Together We Can Work Together" – 3:36
  11. "Tambourine" – 5:52
  12. "Work It Out" – 3:31 (bonus track)
• Quiet Ferocity (7 June 2017, Amplifire) #11 Australia^[13]

EPs

• The Jungle Giants (1 July 2011)
• Track listing
  1. "Mr Polite" – 4:15
  2. "No One Needs to Know" – 4:27
  3. "All the Wrong Places" – 3:26
  4. "Like a Weight" – 4:03
  5. "One of These Days" – 3:49
• She's a Riot (30 July 2012, Amplifire)
• Track listing
  1. "She's a Riot" – 3:39
  2. "Don't Know What Else to Do" – 4:10
  3. "You've Got Something" – 3:45
  4. "Way Back When" – 4:38
  5. "Back to the Start" – 3:51

Singles

• "Mr Polite" (15 July 2011)
• "No One Needs to Know" (2011)
• "Country" (22 August 2011)
• "She's a Riot" (10 July 2012)
• "You've Got Something" (2012)
• "I Am What You Want Me to Be" (5 August 2013)
• "Skin to Bone" (30 August 2013)
• "A Pair of Lovers" (4 April 2014)
• "Every Kind of Way" (10 April 2015)
• "Kooky Eyes" (9 June 2015)
• "Speakerzoid" (2015)
• "Feel The Way I Do" (2017)
• "On Your Way Down" (12 May 2017)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Jungle Giants.

• Official website
• The Jungle Giants on Facebook
• The Jungle Giants's channel on YouTube
• The Jungle Giants on Triple J