As Nat King Cole, The Four Aces and even Ewan McGregor once said: "Love is a many splendored thing". And while the latest full length release from Aussie dynamos The Jungle Giants traverses modern day romance in technicolour fashion, Love Signs also points to yet another polished transformation from the Brisbane quartet amid one of the strangest times on record for musicians of the modern generation.

Already firm industry favourites via their lively vibes and festival-ready tunes, The Jungle Giants have never once rested on their lucrative laurels, instead tirelessly opting to challenge and reinvent their own wheel throughout their ten-year tenure. And covering everything from indie rock to more dance-worthy hues, there's always a sense of robust substance underlying the sharp effervescence that is The Jungle Giants - a fact seen firmly on display since first their self-titled EP was released into the wild back in 2011.

Already snagging triple j's Feature Album this week in the lead-up to the much-awaited new LP, The Jungle Giants have yet again strengthened the industry and fan love affair that has followed the group for so long. And, as frontman Sam Hales discussed on today's episode of The Green Room podcast: the journey hasn't been without its hurdles, but the group have ultimately found ways to embrace the chaos, and convert challenges into positive opportunities.

"I pretty much finished this record during Melbourne's 100 day lockdown, I was just deep in the weirdest time of my life," Hales told host Tiana Speter on today's Green Room episode. 

"But right now, the music now feels separated from any kind of COVID story. 

"It's something that I'm extremely proud of - and it has taken years to get to this point...I love it so much because I feel like making this album actually got me through some potential really hard times. And the times were hard, but I feel like this album really, really supported me.

"And it's like...this album's my friend! (laughs)."

Inevitably for any band fortunate enough to have tasted success, creative and stylistic progression can, at times, attract the added and unwanted weights of expectation, both from an internal and external perspective. And while The Jungle Giants have faced their own fair share of industry anticipation and personal pressure along the way, they continue to prove that they are more than up to the challenge, while also ultimately able to view the scrutiny and apprehension as typical par for the course.

"[Expectations] definitely affect me...I think you're always aware of your career, and you're always aware of...maintaining, and also giving," Hales mused. "You need to be releasing music as an artist...people need to be hearing you, you need to be in the sphere.

"But that used to stress me out more than it does now. When I was younger, it used to stress me out a little, and I had to learn how to deal with it, how to cope with it...when you first start a band, you don't think about those external pressures. But then you learn to cope with them as your career keeps going. 

"I have a really good relationship with the stress of music now....At least I think [I do] 'now'."

"What I do is: I focus on the music when I have time to focus on the music. And then I focus on, you know, strategies and marketing, social media; all that stuff is part of the job. And by giving it time, almost a lot of time for it - it doesn't swamp me, it doesn't get over my head, it's kind of one of those things. 

"I'm conscious as an artist that I want to give...the time I spend making music: I put in time sharing it as well. Because I want as many people as I can to hear it.

"The pressure is always there, but the 'stress' isn't there as much now because I've learned how to deal with it a bit more...and learned to cope with it, and learned to understand it. It's just another part of the job, that's all it is."

With Love Signs marking the first new album from The Jungle Giants since the group's highest Aussie charting album so far (2017's Quiet Ferocity), there was always bound to be some creative experimentation as the group forged into new sonic terrain, lined with giddy synths and throbbing basslines. But there was also talk of another addition in the recording studio that Green Room host Tiana explored further with Hales on today's episode. 

"What my girlfriend was doing...she was spanking my bum," Hales laughed, recalling the story of how he levelled up his vocals on Love Signs. 

"It was because I was doing some takes in my studio, and I couldn't get the energy right, I couldn't get the vibe right. So, I called her almost in desperation...my deadline was that afternoon, to finish off my vocals. And I just wasn't vibing it, and I just needed something.

Hales' girlfriend Grace would imminently arrive to the studio, armed with a bottle of champagne. And it was this apparition, combined with a well-timed prop that saw Hales rise to the occasion, and completely smash it out of the park.

"I called her, and she came to the studio with champagne - and there was a cowboy hat, I'm not sure if she brought it or it was at the studio. And I just got her to press the spacebar while I was at the microphone.

"And the more and more takes I was doing, she was giving me champagne, and then at one point she was like: 'Come on, you got this!!' - and she just gave me a little spank. And it definitely got...it fired me up!! (laughs)

"I would advise anyone who can't get the vibe in the studio - just get a cowboy hat, someone to spank you, and a little bit of champagne. And honestly: the vibe will be right."

You can watch the full episode of The Green Room with Sam Hales and Tiana Speter below, or catch up here. Alternatively, you can also listen to the full The Green Room podcast episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts - or wherever you usually get your podcasts from!

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Tickets for The Jungle Giants Love Signs tour are on-sale now. Head to theGuide for more info.

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Need more music, film, TV and comedy in your life? Check out all previous episodes of The Green Room here - and did you know you can also watch episodes of The Green Room too? Head here to check out some of the recent videos, and if you're still hunting for content to feed your ears, be sure to check out some of the other exciting Handshake Agency podcasts below!

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