UNIFY

Twenty-two years after the last World Trade album, Billy Sherwood has revived the band with Bruce Gowdy and Guy Allison returning on guitars and keyboards respectively, and drummer Mark T. Williams (son of the noted composer John Willams), who played on their debut album, on drums.

Not surprisingly, they still sound like 1980s Yes.

The songs are short, with only one breaking the six minute mark, but hardly an epic.

What stands out here is Sherwood's bass playing. After many years of touring with Yes, and recently taking over for the legendary Chris Squire, he is learning some of the techniques that made Squire such an exceptional bassist. While not as outstanding as Squire, Sherwood's bass lines wander around the melodies and harmonies and rhythms in a similar manner.

The songwriting here is okay. The tunes are all listenable, and the band manages to throw in some progressive turns in nearly every track. Unfortunately, it all sounds like it was done before by Yes.

If you want a better example of what Sherwood can do outside of Yes, look for the 2016 album by Circa, "Valley Of The Windmill". It's a far better album.