Tracklist:

1. Rock City

2. Stealing the Night

3. River of Soul

4.Hang Onto Me

5. The Only One

6. Innocent Tears

7. Shadows

8. Hard Lovin' Woman

10. Breath Away

11.It Takes Two

12. Gina (M. Bolton Cover)

Italian AOR rockers totally surprised me with their debut release Hungryheart. With an endless amount of energy balanced by the passion and emotion clearly heard in their music, Hungryheart have here an excellent album. Rock City launches into the feel-good blend of melodic and glam rock before Stealing the night gives a taster of Josh Zighetti’s wonderfully husky voice. If I had to criticise, I’d say it would be nice to hear him use it a bit more in freestyle, but he has that confidence that comes with competence. And competent is something these guys certainly are. River of Soul opens with an almost western feel, something Trixter-esque about it even, but it dives into a much heavier second section, showing this band’s diversity. Hang onto me is the first real ballad, which, like most of the songs on here, is a little lengthy for me, it does, however, give a brilliant lead into the pumping The only one which demonstrates the harmonised backing vocals so popular in glam rock. Innocent tears could be classed as a bit cliché but Shadows makes up for it. I’m not usually a fan of these musical interludes but this one is one of the best I’ve heard; short and certainly sweet, it’s skilful, emotional and capturing with a really rich sound. Hard Lovin’ Woman continues in a similar vein, as if the same song even, but the guitar erupts brilliantly into a gritty chorus. Breath Away is a heart-breaking but tough ballad, driven all the time by the guitars. It Takes Two is possibly my favourite track on the album, an upbeat yet slightly off-beat song that brings back that lively sound from the album opener. The final song is Michael Bolton cover Gina. And it’s a perfect choice. The band almost seem to sound stronger and more confident in this song and here you really can sample the versatility of Zighetti’s voice.

It’s a fantastic album, and I hope that when I listen to their latest release they do themselves justice. For me, they lacked that something extra, that special spark of glitter but the songs are undoubtedly original, well-executed and a wicked listen; something that’s becoming harder and harder to do it seems.