Stephen
Unruly Child caught me by surprise when they announced a return to the scene. With a good memory of how magnificent their debut is, I anticipated a mighty release after being amazed with the earlier video release of their single, "Very First Time". As in the eponymous debut when Unruly Child played a cool combination of softer-edge of glam metal with pompous magical AOR, that's exactly the classic mixture that was revived in "Worlds Collide".
Strengthened by original members and some powerful songwriting, this album has a great potential of becoming a contender of the greatest melodic rock of 2010, but unfortunately couple of songs just failed to equalize the glow of the others. "Show Me The Money" and “Insane", for instance, aren't really a good pick of album starters. Free's vocal is as strong as ever, but unlucky for the songs, they aren't. However, the album is back on track with "When We Were Young", made a great reincarnation of their old tune, "Who Cries Now". A pure dark verse that burst out with some white melodic chorus. Another stunning tracks are "Love Is Blind", "Read My Mind", "When Worlds Collide", and the single, "Very First Time".
If you love the debut, no doubt you'll love this one as well. After 20 years, I only found them to be more mature and brilliant in terms of musicianship and writing. Free's voice is surprisingly consistent, charming, and full of emotion, just like it was back in the 80s. This album is totally worth the long wait and let’s hope this is only the beginning of a fruitful career to come. Nicely done!