Van Hunt, On The Jungle Floor (Capitol)

 

Hunt’s debut was a smart throwback R&B album with Hunt serving as a spy in the house of lust. On the Jungle Floor could use that kind of focus. You notice the Sly & the Family Stone song, the Prince song and the Lenny song this time around, perhaps because the point of view isn’t as strong—or maybe not as credible—as it was on his debut. There’s a predatory women song or two more than needed, but if you’re going to have slightly derivative fun, the album will more than do. The Sly-influenced cover of Iggy Pop and James Williamson’s “No Sense of Crime” is inspired and murkily beautiful, and “Hot Stage Lights” and “Being a Girl” are the equal of anything Prince is doing these days.