Journey Of The Lonely Child, The

“The Journey Of The Lonely Child” The Errant Hair
Local (Monterey area) alt-rock singer-songwriter has created an album that’s like a time warp — transporting us back to the 1970s when progressive rock and trippy folk-rock ruled the airwaves. Occasional forays into more Americana-flavored folk-rock. Really well done tracks with some epic anthems that soar into the atmosphere or recall the keyboards of artists such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer. RIYL: ELP, King Crimson, Yes, or Harry Chapin.
— Francis

Recommended: 9, 6, 2, 8, 5, 7. No FCCs detected.

1. (2:53) Echos Of My Fears — March-like rhythm — with layers of synths, piano and minimal, raw vocals.
2. (6:23) In The Darkness — Opens with piano with synth squiggles. Builds into Emerson, Lake & Palmer-like keyboards. Doubled Moody Blues-like vocals over harpsichord keys. Cascading keyboards and guitar in the lengthy trail-out. Epic! ****
3. (2:42) Lonely Child — Two-note melody, with swirling synths and Randy Newman-like vocals.
4. (5:44) Star Bound — Deliberate tempo, with a nice bounce. Synths are almost circus-like.
5. (3:09) Bounty — Slow-tempo chamber-pop ballad. Simple drumming. Vulnerable vocals. Nice synth/orchestral backing. ***
6. (4:45) How Can Life — Organ-based, proggy folk-rock. Lilting melody. Simple, honest, almost-spoken vocals about life’s passage. A single. ****
7. (7:21) Dark And Restless Night — Strummed guitar and piano. Accordion or harmonica-like synth. Americana-flavored rock reminiscent of Harry Chapin’s “Taxi.” Interesting change in dynamics at 4 minutes. **
8. (6:26) Rescue — Medieval-sounding steel guitar at open. Transitions to up-tempo tune with strummy electric guitar and tight riffs. ***
9. (9:25) Once Before — Another single! A great example of progressive rock. Pulsing bass and simple beat, with flowing synths and trippy flourishes. Long, cool, atmospheric trail-out. ****
10. (4:16) Once Before (Short Version) — Play this only if you don’t have time for the full version in track #9. This starts the same way as the long version, but fades out at just after 4 minutes, before the long trail-out with all the cool keyboards and guitar work.