Album Review

Hungry Lucy – Pulse Of The Earth

• 25th Feb 2010

Darkwave duo Hungry Lucy release their latest album after a decade of being together. What we get is 10 very sweet generically different songs.

Darkwave bands are few and far between – but the past decade has really shown US based bands come to the fore and demonstrate a true passion for music and art. Lucky for fans the majority of these bands including Hungry Lucy are pretty damn good at what they do.

This album in particular sees them at the most electronic ambient – opening with the haunting “Just Imagine,” vocalist Christa Belle and tech savvy Warren Harrison show their proficiency quickly.

If there is anything that could support their work it would be better access to more instruments. Electronic composing can work wonders – but as in the case of the titular song – they could have soared so much higher with a bigger budget on hand. It’s a true highlight to the album and along with the waltzing “Balloon Girl” it is easy to see how much more epic the music could sound with physical instruments.

Without that sounding like a criticism on the band; it is a testament to Harrison’s work though that he single handedly weaves as many layers into his music as possible to make them sound as good as they do. The composition of the music itself is no easy task either, and after a decade at work Hungry Lucy are stronger than ever.

The playful changes of genre on this album goes a long way. There is an almost David Holmes/ Lalo Schifrin-esque territory about “Bumble”. Hill” on the other hand is much more enchanting and has a more gipsy folk ring to it.

Pulse of the Earth is another achievement for the band to be proud of – and a trend we hope they continue to endeavour in.

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