Hungry Lucy

Hungry Lucy, one of America's best "goth-tronica" bands, have released their third and strongest album to date entitled To Kill a King (HLCD003, 2004). Fans of Hungry Lucy's earlier albums Apparitions and Glo will be highly pleased with this third outing. Hungry Lucy, who are War-N Harrison (instrumentation) and Christa Belle (vocals), have lost none of the dark charming moodiness that have made their first two albums such huge indie successes.

This time around, the arrangements and music are even better. The tone of the songs on the album drift from the ethereal to the folksy to the ambient/elctronic/trip hop realm. To Kill a King shows a marked development in the songwriting of the group and explores new territory. "Rainfall" is, melodically speaking, one of the best songs on the album. With catchy acoustic guitar rifts and a gurgling electronic backdrop, Christa Belle's innocent and clear voice, sounding very much like Candice Night of Blackmore's Night rides prettily over the dreamy soundscape.

The brooding "Softly" is a wonderful blend of 4AD gothica with light touches of American-western slide guitar--ingenious stuff. In "The Chase," Hungry Lucy have crafted something that would sit comfortably in the Suzanne Vega milieu, but with a special pinch of otherworldliness that one might hear on a Love Spirals Downwards album. A suprise on the album is the largely instrumental number "A Lifetime Remains." A melancholy and introspective piano line is occassionally interrupted by strange and rich bellowing sounds as though a large bird were flapping its wings overhead. This song is both musically interesting and displays Hungry Lucy's more innovative side.

The lush ambience of "Shine" is a swinging/trip-hoppy tender piece that incorporates ethnic percussion and Indian flavors. "My Beloved" is almost hymn-like with epic and sweeping organ swaths. Although the music is uplifting and hopeful, the song never sounds contrived or overwrought.

Never ones to slack in the remix department, To Kill a King includes four bonus mixes. And fortunately these mixes rock! The F9 Mix of "The Chase" is pure 80's retro-clash fun. Pusling beat and rolling bass-line convert this song into a New Order-esque synth joy. The F9 Mix of "Shine" is equally successful, but more modern sounding in its invocation of Delerium-styled arpeggiation. The Null Device Mix of "You Are" is a dark piece of stabbing synthetic lines and punching beat that retains a gothic bent. Finally, the Trigger10D Mix of "To Kill a King" hovers on the border of deep-house. Anyone that thinks Hungry Lucy are all sweeping sorrow should check these remixes out.

Hungry Lucy improve with each album. To Kill a King is a very finely-done album and notable contribution to the genre of female-fronted bands. - Russ Elliot/Justin Elswick

Hungry Lucy is the collaboration of Christa Belle and War-N Harrison of Fishtank # 9. After a couple of praised and noticed compilation appearances, here comes finally the long awaited full length album... "Apparitions" takes you on a dark trip-hop journey hovering between melodic low-tempo electronics and ghostly emotional female vocals. The mysterious depth and subtle innocence of Christa Belle's sombre lyrics give a certain gothic twist to the modern electronic compositions. If comparisons will probably be made with Portishead or even Switchblade Symphony, the strong identity of Hungry Lucy makes them stand out as different and unique. The trip-hop rhythm arrangements are surrounded with lush melodic avantgardish orchestrations, creative electronic loops and shimmering atmospheres, while the catchy vocals delicately merge with the music. "Apparitions" is a splendiferous symbiosis of emotions that can't leave you unaffected and can appeal to a rather wide audience (from the modern goth wave listener to the trip-hop goer through any romantic synth pop lover). Next to the great comp tracks that are "Bound In Blood" and the Depeche Mode cover of "Blue Dress", other essential songs definitely include the moving opening "Alfred", the deliciously tuneful "Stretch" or yet the fragile "Bed Of Flames". We'll also notice remixes by the band themselves, but also by Battery and Heavy Water Factory. All this said, you will understand that this disc has been on heavy rotation on my cd player since its release and that your turn has come to put your hand on this essential album with immediacy. A must have! (TSF:9/10). - TSF

Featuring War-N Harrison of Fishtank 9, this album takes Harrison's penchant for fluid programming and merges it with triphop rhythms and lovely female vocals courtesy of Christa Belle. The resultant sound recalls an elektropopped version of Portishead, with an intriguingly dark atmosphere.
The haunting refrain of "Alfred" opens the disc in a strikingly catchy manner, while Hungry Lucy expands its approach through the mellow Love Spirals Downward-esque "Cover Me," in which lethargic bass rumbles and sparkling piano tinkles entwine with the soothing vocals. HL also covers Depeche Mode's "Blue Dress," which is bolstered with a rhythm that rides like a jagged hypodermic needle, while the dispossessed vocals flutter over top. The best track is the upbeat "Bound In Blood," which is vaguely reminiscent of Ivoux in atmosphere, and its sister band Battery in terms of the bouncier rhythm and synth bashing. I dig this brand of dark triphop/pop, as it merges mood, personality, and depth with infectious catchiness and body-moving rhythms.

Tate Bengtson Editor, Chaotic Critiques fanzine - Tate Bengtson