WORLD TRADE – Unify

Mixing prog, pop and AOR, the first album by World Trade is somewhat of a cult classic. Showcasing Billy Sherwood’s multi-layered sound, the record is essential listening for fans of ‘Images of Forever’ by Cannata, ‘90125’ era Yes and ‘Hold Your Fire’ era Rush. Given it’s technical approach and sophisticated choruses, it’s no wonder Billy became a member of the Yes family tree a short time later. Six years on, a second World Trade album appeared, but ‘Euphoria’ seemed to not quite match expectations. Maybe it’s because both Guy Allison and Bruce Gowdy had founded AOR band Unruly Child with Marcie Free in the interim and had other interests; maybe it was just a difficult second record. The record, while enjoyable, lacked the focus of the debut and re-used tracks that Sherwood had previously demoed with Chris Squire alongside other material.

With Sherwood having other projects taking his time and also taking on the unenviable position of full time bassist with the ever-touring Yes in 2015, and with Gowdy and Allison having commitments with Unruly Child, it seemed we’d heard the last of World Trade…and then a third album appeared somewhat unexpectedly on Frontiers Records in 2017.

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STRANGE MAJIK – Deep In The Shadows EP

In the first half of 2017, Strange Majik released the ‘Soul Crisis‘ EP. It’s four songs melded the typical Strange Majik funk, rock and soul sounds with a less typical anger. Donald Trump had just become one of the most powerful men in the world with a mandate that would drag the US backwards at a frightening rate. No wonder Strange Majik’s head honcho David Pattillo was in a foul mood. Several months down the line, very little has changed with the state of the world. Trump has increasingly made America a laughing stock, but people aren’t taking it lying down…or letting it stifle their voices or creativity.

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Watch the new video from Leslie Mendelson

In April 2017, singer songwriter Leslie Mendelson released ‘Love and Murder’, a downbeat and thoughtful album, mixing her own compositions with covers of more familiar material by Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison.

As part of the album’s promotion, an atmospheric black and white clip has been released for ‘Chasing The Thrill’, a video that really highlights the sparseness of the track in question. ‘Chasing The Thrill’ really shows off her old style and natural voice against a sparse arrangement and is a great indicator of why you should investigate the full album.

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ZWAN – Live at Rock am Ring 2003

In just two short years, Zwan demoed and recorded a huge amount of material.  Whether in their electric format (The True Poets of Zwan) or stripped back and more acoustic driven (Djali Zwan), the Billy Corgan-fronted project showed a great depth and inventiveness.

Always a prolific writer, with Zwan, Corgan occasionally showed off his power pop influences (‘Lyric’, ‘Yeah’) alongside expansive prog rock indulgences (‘Jesus I/Mary Star of the Sea’).  While not always championed by everyone, this varied approach to material ensured Zwan’s only studio album remains a thrilling listening experience years after the event.

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MORATONES – Moratones EP

Every week, new bands surface playing homage to the Ramones, The Queers and their ilk, and about once a month, you’ll probably find one good enough to add to your regular punk playlist. Such is the case with Moratones, a Spanish take on classic pop punk themes. On this EP release, their music is played with such authenticity that, within about a minute, you’ll completely forget that the vocals are all in Spanish and just get swept along with the band’s general love for the style.

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