Well, the title's a misnomer for a start. Although I imagine we're talking creativity rather than food intake in terms of "The Hungry Years", there's nothing frugal about the execution of the songs on Brighton trio CHUNGKING'S debut album. It's a record stuffed to the gills with ambition and lavish arrangements: with Jessie Banks' remarkable voice adding both the cream and the cherry on the cake.
Yes, I confess, "The Hungry Years" is considerably poppier and more mainstream than the kind of thing your reviewer would normally be happy to endorse, but hell,everyone's gotta shamefully indulge now and then and - if you can allow me to continue with this daft cuisine-based analogy a second longer - Chungking are for once worth their Egon Ronay rating.
Both the trailer singles sent advance warning that Jessie and co had little truck with lo-fi, indie shenanigans. "Let The Love In" was the first Chungking track I clapped ears on and I still love its' euphoric rush, elastic basslines and Jessie's delicious vocal gymnastics. Besides, anyone who can deny that "I think I'm in love" chorus is probably clinically dead. "Making Music", by comparison, I was initially less sure of and its' intro still sounds scarily MOR-inclined, though it does improve with repeated exposure.
Anyway, the scope of these tunes is rivalled by virtually everything here. Opener "Come With Me" is both memorable and seductive, starting out with a huge, orchestrated fanfare and finding Jessie coming on like a 21st century Dusty Springfield. It's quite a start, and the ambition levels are scarcely any lower on tunes like "Angel Eyes", with its' graceful, cinematic sweep and the more modern, soulful outing that is "Voodoo". Here, Jessie indulges in a wonderful, soaraway vocal and the whole thing sounds airy and lovely.
Of course, one of the reasons "The Hungry Years" has been so long in gestation is because Jessie and one of the boys in the band lived through an acrimonious split, which has clearly coloured the mood of the record. Nonetheless, creativity-wise, the personal anguish has contributed to several songs which are among the key moments here. "Please Don't Talk" is a resigned, dignified ballad, where Jessie smoulders through lines like: "Please don't talk like that again/ I have been imagining that you meant it all"with tangible chagrin, while the equally dignfied "Following"is slow, full of longing and makes it abundantly clear moving on has been a fraught process for all concerned.
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Elsewhere, though, you're overjoyed they could surmount the personal obstacles. For proof, look no further than "Full On" and "We Love You." The first is truly remarkable. It IS Jessie singing, but when you consider the dark, soulful vocals on this tune bring to bear comparisons with MALE soul stars like Teddy Pendergrass, it's a little disconcerting. Yeah, there are female singers from the past capable of this kind of register, but you're talking people like Lena Horne and Yma Sumac, not anyone in the current disposable pop orbit. "We Love You", meanwhile, isn't a cover of The Stones' devilish prison riposte, but a rippling, Goldfrapp-ish tiptoe with a distinct, noir-style tint which shows jut how versatile the 'King can be. Finally, as if to serve further notice that they can operate on numerous levels, they sign off with "Cold Outside", the one track where they strip it back to bare acoustics with some aplomb.
Considering the strain the whole band must have been under on a personal level, that Chungking have survived at all deserves a round of applause. That they should be able to concoct such a lavish feast as they have with "The Hungry Years" though.....well, they're simply spoiling us.
That's the pre-banquet speech over with, then. I'll shut up while you tuck in.
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