Jungle

Upbeat, melodic, listenable and refreshing. Love it!

Middle Class Fashion is helping lead a pop renaissance in St. Louis, Mo., and Jungle - the group's second full-length - does not disappoint. Between their infectious hooks, pounding piano chords and funk-fueled bass lines, the band delivers a sound that can be sweet one moment and vicious the next. Lead singer and songwriter Jenn Malzone has a distinctive voice that holds it's own against the rhythms beneath as her lyrics tread the gamut of love, loss, jealousy and revenge. While their debut (Girl Talk) was full of raw energy, with Jungle MCF finds more texture and dynamics along with a greatly improved level of production. This album may be a new high-water mark for pop in St. Louis, and I suspect it will fuel some friendly competition among their peers in the local scene. Better still, Jungle is exactly the album to introduce outsiders to the sound of St. Louis pop in 2013.