Manchester’s high-energy fun-punks Hungry have kicked off 2026 with their new single, “Cambridge Is On Fire.” Following a breakout year that saw them tour with Gans and release their debut EP, Are You The Best Yet?, the band is shifting toward a heavier, more confrontational sound. The new track serves as a sardonic “sonic boom,” blending the band’s signature “up the wall” live energy with an intellectual dive into “fenland gothic” themes. By drawing parallels between historical enclosure laws and the modern exploitation of public property, Hungry delivers an acerbic critique of contemporary England.
The single marks the first in a series of planned releases for 2026, signalling a move toward more politically charged, riff-led rock. Known for their crowd-mingling performances and observant lyricism, the band continues to explore the frustrations of the twenty-something outsider while investigating the very idea of English identity.
Frontman and lyricist Jacob Peck detailed the track’s evolution from satire to a biting social commentary:
“The song began as a knowingly daft pastiche of noughties indie built on a silly bassline, ironic guitars and exaggerated Americanisms before our warped, post-punk-pop sensibilities kicked in. Scattered all over that is the thematic basis for the lyrics, expressing our frustrations with middle-class comforts, over-analysis without action, nimbyism, intellectual cowardice as a stand-in for material change and all too easy deference to business and power.”
He further expanded on the metaphorical connection between the English landscape and the current cultural climate:
“The vast, desolate expanse of the fens, formed through profit-driven intervention, mirrors the cultural landscape we exist in, which struggles to thrive and breathe under cuts and times of national hardship. We’re looking to investigate the idea of the English nation and its role in mutual assistance and what we choose to celebrate as ‘England’.”
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