Miriam Waks Brings Us “Back to the Jungle” in Colorful Ode to New York (track review)

‘Back to the Jungle’ is the very first track that listeners will be greeted by when paying an ear towards Miriam Waks’ latest album, Tales from a Room. For this writer, personally, it’s also one of the most immediately striking. Featuring an instrumental collective encompassing an electric guitar, heady drums, and some keys, the off-the-bat impression that it evokes is perfectly summed up by a singular word: “cool.” Then, Waks herself comes into the track, laying her evocative vocals down in a way that feels reminiscent of the jazz singers upon which New York City established its musical foundation.

This is all too fitting, given Waks’ intent behind the development of ‘Back to the Jungle’, a song written and performed as an ode to the city itself and the artists who make it. Its encompassing music video tells that story with a bevy of visual cues. Waks observes ballerinas gracefully dancing, painters contemplating their next stroke, and outdoor performers seizing the streets all during a casual stroll through her home city. It never feels on the nose, conveying the beauties of the effulgent art that so fully takes over NYC with such a unifying and powerful serenity.

Tales from a Room is out now. It was co-produced by Waks and Brendan Harkin.