By October 24, 2019
Hungry Girl is bringing back their hard-hitting, riff-centric heavy rock on their newest collection of songs, Rip Currents. A glance at the cover art gives a huge amount of insight into how the trio presents their music throughout the album. A skeleton in a spacesuit with a guitar strapped on its back rides a jet ski into space, all while engulfed in flames. The artwork screams of the high energy, frenetic, metal-influenced sounds contained within the ten tracks.
Rip Currents is the band’s sophomore album, their first recorded material to include bassist Jake Wade, and their latest effort since their 2017 EP, Cool Shots. Taking time between their releases has allowed the Charlotte band to craft a selection of tightly knit tunes that come together as a cohesive body of work akin to metal and hard rock acts like Black Sabbath or the Foo Fighters.
The album benefits from a brevity that keeps the audience itching for more after the sub-30 minutes of material have concluded. The thundering drums and slick guitar riffs keep the songs barrelling at a breakneck pace, and show off all three member’s musicianship. There are many moments of brilliance to count on this record, but a few spots that showcase the band working at their best: the melodic guitar solo leading out of “Find Myself Missing You,” the dynamic changes between the verses and choruses of “You Know You Did,” the sludge of closer “S.I.C.,” and the catchy vocals of opener “Honest.” “Say Less,” the shortest track on the album, has a raw force that will make for an electrifying live performance for audiences to mosh and dance to.
“If You Would Let Me” comes around the midpoint of the record and provides a bit of respite from the heavy distortion and aggressive tempos found on the album. The guitar and bass come across cleaner, with the drums laying down a calmer beat to glide over. Frontman Jason “DeDe” Skipper’s vocals and lyrics really shine through over the more mellow instrumentals, as he laments feeling trapped and unheard: “Tighten up the hold that keeps me where you want / Now I’m feeling helpless, is this normal? / Darkness in your eyes seems to say it all / I’d love to tell my side, if you would let me.” The melody is poppy and infectious, creating an earworm that can stay in your head for days. The track has a more immediate emotional connection, and shows a side of the band that’s a little more comfortable with feelings than they normally let on.
The Charlotte rockers have stepped up their game with this latest release, and have created a slew of songs with nasty riffs, soaring vocals, and punchy drums that prove that hard rock can still be fresh and exciting in 2019. Hungry Girl will be hosting a couple of different events in the coming weeks to celebrate the release of their latest album. On November 1, Birdsong Brewing will be releasing the Hungry Girl IPA, coinciding with the official release date of the album. In addition to releasing the limited supply beer there will be a free listening party at Birdsong where the album will be played as a whole music by DJ Justin Aswell. The following week on November 7 the band will have an album release show at Visulite Theatre with local rockers Petrov and Acne opening up the night.
Rip Currents by Hungry Girl will be available November 1 on 12″ vinyl, CD, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, and other digital retailers.
Read next:
