For a career renaissance since the turn of the century that can be truly applauded it is that of Glenn Hughes. Long gone are his numerous appearances on dodgy tribute albums to the likes of Queen, Aerosmith and Nazareth and Glenn's time is now thankfully devoted to doing what he does best. And in the case of First Underground Nuclear Kitchen that is most definitely a case of top drawer FUNK rock with some heavenly bass playing and divine vocals. Up-tempo opener 'Crave' picks up where last album, Music for the Divine, left off with the rhythm section of Hughes and long-time collaborator Chad Smith getting straight into the groove. The infectious, and instantly accessible, title track finds Hughes trading licks with guitarist Luis Maldonado with an injection of horn samples keeping up the vibe. Another early highlight is 'Love Communion' with the inspirational bass playing leading the way and the soaring vocal marking this out as a real high point in an album packed full of gems. 

Sitting amidst all of this are the two ballads, the laid back smooch of 'Satellite' and the jazzy 'Imperfection', that allow a moment of reflection. But these are really no more than lightweight interludes when compared what can be found elsewhere. Hughes clearly still has something to say about the current state of the world and delivers a one-two knockout blow with the hard-hitting 'We Go To War' and 'Oil And Water' and the emphasis here is taking him back to the year 2000 and Return Of The Crystal Karma (or R.O.C.K.). The mood is carried through to the end of the album with the poignant 'Too Late To Save The World', where the band stretch the song out to more than six minutes with The Voice of Rock still as strong as ever.  

You can't really call this a return to form for Hughes as he has been on something of a roll for some time now. What F.U.N.K. does achieve is exactly what it says on the box and much of the material here will be well suited to the explosive live shows due to follow over the next few months. 

First Underground Nuclear Kitchen is released on May 12th via Frontiers.

Dean Pedly