Brisbane’s Hungry Kids Of Hungary’s debut album is as good as their name is terrible.
Indie music is enough of a broad church that it’s hard to use the appellation to any useful effect. But Hungry Kids Of Hungary do “indie” in the best sense.
Their music is absolutely drenched in swooning harmonies and melodies, jaunty piano licks, tropical percussion, twinkling digital effects, warm guitar, and plenty of pep.
It could be easily described as twee, in the Belle & Sebastian vein of coy indie, but this quartet is so adorable in its pursuit of sincere pop hooks that they’re hard to hate.
In fact, their earnestness is their greatest strength – heartwarming lilts, vigorous jangles as earwormy as ad jingles, softly psychedelic ballads, all about girls and boys and why they sometimes just can’t get it together.
Each song seems to yearn for an intertwined harmony yet each song has individual character within the rubric of Kane Mazlin and Dean McGrath’s perky vocal duels
For quick reference, Hungry Kids Of Hungry are succeeding at what many bands in this country are attempting; to be Australia’s own Vampire Weekend.
Some merely utilize the signifiers of the current calypso indie trend.
HKOH surely have sprightly summer songs, with a worldbeat edge and a fresh touch. They also remembered to make them maddeningly addictive.
