It is the fifth track on their seventh studio album, A Bath Full of Ecstasy, and was released as its lead single on 4 April 2019 through Domino Recording Company.

[4] Jessica Mao, writing for Dancing Astronaut said that "Hungry Child" "[meshes] indie with electronic in a dreamy, yet groovy number, emitting heavy summer vibes.

Philip Sherburne, writing for Pitchfork, called "Hungry Child" a "dance-music aficionado's record par excellence, a collage of hallowed tropes: moody Reese bass, flashing piano stabs, gospel-house vocal harmonies, even squirrelly little synth riffs reminiscent of Isolée".

[4] Sherburne further explaining that the lyrics "meets the band's muscular four-to-the-floor throb, creating a sound that's as playful as it is lovelorn".

[4] Writing for Noisey, Josh Terry called the song an "excellent single", describing it as "sprawling and pulsing".