Unruly Child: Can’t Go Home (Frontiers)

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been seven years since the comeback album Worlds Collide from melodic rockers Unruly Child. Fortunately Marcie Free and the rest of the gang from the original Unruly Child lineup are back with a new album, titled Can’t Go Home.

Worlds Collide showed that the band still had the chemistry (and Free still has the voice), but it was perhaps a bit more mellow than fans expected. They push even further in that direction on Can’t Go Home, and while that may frustrate people looking for a return to the debut’s sound, it’s executed so well you really can’t complain. Can’t Go Home is quite simply a gorgeous AOR album, full of smooth melodies, strong, steady vocals and just enough of a rock edge. It’s like the halfway point between Giant and Dare. “The Only One,” “She Can’t Go Home” and “Sunlit Sky” are great examples of Can’t Go Home’s overall sound, but the whole album is really easy to get into.

If you’ve been following Unruly Child’s career and liked what you heard on Worlds Collide, you’re going to love Can’t Go Home as well. This is about as good as American AOR gets, and is an easy recommendation for fans of bands like Dare, Giant, Harem Scarem, Mecca and Find Me.