Escapades is the debutstudio album by Australian indie pop bandHungry Kids of Hungary. Released in Australia on 1 October 2010 on Stop Start/EMI, the album was produced by Matt Redlich and features two singles from the band's first two EPs - "Scattered Diamonds" and a re-recorded version of "Set It Right". Previous stand-alone single "Let You Down" was also re-recorded and three additional singles - "Wristwatch", "Coming Around" and "The Vacationer" - were released and gained extensive radio play on triple j prior to the album's release.
Recording and production
Escapades contains material that had been written by the band's Dean McGrath and Kane Mazlin from 2008 through to the album's release in 2010. A total of 47 demos were recorded for the record with the track list resulting in 12 tracks. A further two songs - "Airsick" and "Keep Talking" - were recorded for the album but didn't make the physical release. The album was recorded in Brisbane with producer/engineer Matt Redlich between January and July 2010 in his home studio called Massive Studios. Dean McGrath said: "We knew Matt before, he's a Brisbane based producer and engineer, and we knew him on more of a personal basis as a friend of ours. And he recorded the second EP that we released…we had a few options for recording, but in the end it just felt like the right decision to work out of home in Brisbane and to do it with Matt. "He works out of the downstairs bit of his house and there's a pool out the back, which is great when you're recording in summer, because we started in January, and it's blistering hot in Brisbane. We'd record for two hours then have a swim and keep recorded…it was great! I think that sort of environment its conducive for us to do good work. We just feel really comfortable; it's the way we operate. You're not on the clock like you are in a major studio, you don't feel like you have to hurry…we just went in and recorded when we could. It was a really nice process."
Critical response
The album was selected to be triple j's Feature Album for the week beginning Monday 4 October and critics were generally favorable of Escapades. It was praised by Time Off reviewer Matt O'Neill who said it was "a meticulously crafted, stunningly accomplished endeavor" and awarded it five out of five star rating. Brisbane's Rave Magazine featured it as Album of the Week with a four star rating and Sydney Morning Herald's Bernard Zuel also gave it four stars saying "You're really going to enjoy this band. Lord knows I do." MX's Nick Mason also gave it four stars while both Craig Mathieson from The Age and Mikey Cahill from Herald Sun gave it three stars. The album debut on the ARIA chart at number 24. The album also reached #20 in triple j's listeners top 20 album poll at the end of 2010.
