Music For The Love Of It
It's been a busy few years for The Trade. Having toured extensively for the last three years supporting the likes of The Buzzcocks, The Twang and The Stiff Little Fingers to name but a few, the five piece have more than owned their status as a touring band and having proven their worth across the country, are now setting out to prove their worth through their second album, Fu-Go, an album that seems just as happy to grab you by the hand and twirl you around the dance floor as it is to pummel you within the mosh pit.
Bright, breezy and with enough bounce to insure even the most miserable old git in the corner will be forced to crack a smile, Amsterdam enthusiastically opens proceedings. From the avalanche of riffs that jostle alongside foot tapping beats, Amsterdam has vibrancy and enthusiasm by the bucket load, throw into the mix a melodic crescendo of vocal harmonies that will not accept non participation, and The Trade have all but stamped summer festival tune to their opening track. From here on out Fu-Go is a lesson in how to have a good time; regardless of the subject matter (and lyrically these guys deserve your attention), Fu-Go just screams fun from the teasing gentleness of Beauty And The Beast which explodes into ...well a beast to the laid back early Kings Of Leon-esque snarl and strut of Big Chunk O'Crackleback all the way through to the fuzz fuelled riff rampage of Lifelines which stomps and snarls with venom, guaranteeing heads will be banging along in support. But The Trade aren't all about getting in your face and enticing your feet to tap along to the beat, there are sombre, more sedate numbers too that make you sit back and simply contemplate the passion of the music and emotion of the lyrics such as Daddies Twisted that all but crushes your heart or the simplicity of Lady Get Over You which begs to offload a tsunami of emotion tied up neatly in a track which is stripped back to the bare minimum and is all the more poignant and effective because of it.
Apparently the idea behind Fu-Go is to make a living doing something you love, giving it your all to launch your own Fu-Go and hit your target. Words of advice of mere optimistic hype? It doesn't really matter what your take is on the concept of the album but the hard cold facts speak for themselves and in this case, The Trade have really let the music do the talking. This is an album formed out of the sheer love of the music the band are created, every track is over flowing with passion and as such you will not fail to be effected by all 11 tracks. This is music made by music lovers and at the end of the day, what isn't there to like about that?