Unruly Child
Can’t Go Home
Frontiers Music Srl
2017
After an EP that was meant to be followed by yet another forming the sides of “album” but got abandoned in favor of doing a new album with frontiers and some seven years past “Worlds Collide”, Unruly Child are back with a full new album of completely original and new material.
Originally conceived in the early 90s as a bit of an AOR supergroup, they even had their debut occur on a multinational owned branch, but failed to capitalize on its success since the grunge tidal waves drowned almost everything melodic in their wake.
Some 25 years later their fifth “proper” album is out and what can we make out of it? The style is still a quite pleasant AOR/HR hybrid, with interesting instrumental ideas and passionate vocals, but what really struck me as odd, is the dry production. The debut had a big, spacious mix with fantastic depth, rich reverb and a wide stereo image while this latest stuff sounds a lot thinner, far more brittle and weak, almost as all the life has been sucked out of it. Maybe it’s something to do with the “online source”, I dunno… at any rate it sound a lot less impressive, even if compared with the stuff a few years ago.
Musically things are pretty standard and songs like the poppy and smooth; “The Only One” or the punchier mid-tempo “Four Eleven” sound quite pleasant. “She Can’t Go Home” a few songs later is another good moment, a rather sad and lovely song, with great harmonies. “Point of View” is a bit more mainstream and reminiscent of the old days with its nice chorus, and I guess the smooth power poppy “When Love is Here” is another 80s flavored number that old school fans will probably appreciate.
Not a bad album, but not crazy good either, it sort of stands it’s ground in the UC catalog, but I’d rather have seen the “Down the Rabbit Hole” completed and released, rather than this, since that album, well EP, sounded more “lively” and organic, but anything really is appreciated, no matter what.
Originally conceived in the early 90s as a bit of an AOR supergroup, they even had their debut occur on a multinational owned branch, but failed to capitalize on its success since the grunge tidal waves drowned almost everything melodic in their wake.
Some 25 years later their fifth “proper” album is out and what can we make out of it? The style is still a quite pleasant AOR/HR hybrid, with interesting instrumental ideas and passionate vocals, but what really struck me as odd, is the dry production. The debut had a big, spacious mix with fantastic depth, rich reverb and a wide stereo image while this latest stuff sounds a lot thinner, far more brittle and weak, almost as all the life has been sucked out of it. Maybe it’s something to do with the “online source”, I dunno… at any rate it sound a lot less impressive, even if compared with the stuff a few years ago.
Musically things are pretty standard and songs like the poppy and smooth; “The Only One” or the punchier mid-tempo “Four Eleven” sound quite pleasant. “She Can’t Go Home” a few songs later is another good moment, a rather sad and lovely song, with great harmonies. “Point of View” is a bit more mainstream and reminiscent of the old days with its nice chorus, and I guess the smooth power poppy “When Love is Here” is another 80s flavored number that old school fans will probably appreciate.
Not a bad album, but not crazy good either, it sort of stands it’s ground in the UC catalog, but I’d rather have seen the “Down the Rabbit Hole” completed and released, rather than this, since that album, well EP, sounded more “lively” and organic, but anything really is appreciated, no matter what.