Kangol hats off to Jungle, and not just because the project’s self-titled debut has been shortlisted for this year’s Mercury Prize.

As impressive as that might be, what’s really blown us away is the fact that the album doesn’t sound like it was made by a couple of white guys. Jungle seems like an artifact from another time, one when men wore crazy platform shoes and hats with giant purple feathers, and were known by names like Huggy Bear.

If you’ve also found yourself confused, that’s understandable. Jungle—which plays the Imperial on Tuesday (October 14)—started out as one of the Internet sensations that doesn’t issue promo photos and considers giving the names of those involved an unnecessary nuisance. All that mattered was that songs like “Time” and “The Heat” were retro-funktastic enough to give Sly Stone fans a raging erection. Because nothing stays a secret long in the Internet era, we now know that the studio project—which expands to a seven-piece live—is helmed by Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland, former members of a nondescript indie band called Born Blonde.

Somewhere along the line, the two got a bad case of funk fever, which is to say that if you’re going to Jungle, prepare to sweat like it’s a New York summer circa ’75.