Search - Huang Chung :: Huang Chung

Ding? Dang Dong!

Mark Champion | San Antonio, TX United States | 03/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not sure how far I want to go with this, but Wang Chung's first record isn't too bad in a sub-Midge Ure Ultravox sort of way. On this release they eschew synthetic rhythms and most keyboards and replace them with tasty saxophone. (A huang chung is a type of Chinese reed or wind instrument but I'll be darned if I can hear any such thing on this record, unless the particular saxophone in question happens to be Chinese-made.) Given their moniker, and the cover (a rather dour-looking bunch with fake names- -Darwin? Hogg?- -and the requisite silly hair that unfortunately renders them hard to take very seriously), and several song titles ('China', 'Chinese Girls', 'Rising In The East') you would think this would be an exotic sort of affair; as it is, it's rather mainstream. There's a lot of fretless bass, but the most 'Oriental' thing about HUANG CHUNG (the album) is that Huang Chung (the band) probably thinks it's Japan (the other band). Besides, they sneak in a love song called 'Ti Na Na' which is really 'Tir Na Nog', the mythic Celtic land of eternal youth or something. Tracks I like: 'Ti Na Na' (a dress-rehearsal for 'Dance Hall Days'); 'Dancing' ('and then your dead'!); 'China' (great drum sound, uh, Darwin). Tracks I don't like: well. . . .you figure it out, I'm busy tracing the band's travel itinerary."

Vastly under-rated Debut Album

Mr Richard Byatt | England | 07/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sporting an unlikely looking (and unheard of)line-up of Jack Hues (lead vocal), Nick De Spig (Bass), Darren Darwin (Drums) & Hogg Robinson (sax), this is an energetic yet thoughtful post-punk offering. Partially inspired by the whole punk movement, the classically trained Hues combines the rocking 'Straight from my heart' & 'Rising in the East'with the likes of 'Ti-na-na' with it's subliminal oriental-sounding opening and the contemplative 'I can't sleep'For all the raw-energy of this album, you cannot fail to feel the innovation and creativity that shines through. With the occasional dreamy sound of fretless-bass in the background, use of echo, various bell&koto type sounds, you can feel temporarily transcended to some ethereal 'nether-world' only to be brought crashing back down to Earth with the likes of the up-tempo 'China' with it's uplifting tenor-sax.Produced by Roger Bechirian & Rhett Davies (previously worked with Roxy Music), this is an unusual but ultimately rewarding album combining different styles and techniques with an unmistakable honesty transmitted through Hues' vocals.
The band metamorphised from Huang Chung to Wang Chung following this album and gained considerable commercial success."