Reviews

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"Great female fronted, UK band, that plays prime time melodic hard rock that is more than a wink and nudge at "old school" Msg, and Scandy band, Coastlines' catchy hooks. Alison Taffs has a great voice thats like a hybrid of Helen Christiansson, of the afore mentioned,Coastline, Nancy Nash,and Lana Lane, shown off to real effect, on one of my personal favourite tunes "Dreaming" a breezy and highly evocative ballad that tugs at the soul. Also worthy of mention are the vocal harmonies; a choir of angels, methinks! Then theres Steve Tsois' guitarwork: Michael Schenker anyone?! a professional fire, complimented by the pulsating rhythm section of Docherty and Addis. A great album (15 tracks in all) that harkens back to the glory days of the 80's, and in 2004, is now a breathe of fresh air, in an atmosphere made stale by Mtv.

"This cd has just drifted my way. And am I glad it did! Relay can trace their beginnings back to 1975, and are from my old hunting ground of Essex. They so happen to be a very good AOR/melodic hard rock band, with the 21st century version of this band fronted by Alison Taffs. If you like no nonsense, no frills melodic hard rock, then Relay is for you. Awesome vocals by the way too. Kicking off with 'Bankrupt Heart' it is obvious what path 'Circuit Breaker' will tread. And I like it! And the ballads on the album, check out the power ballads 'All For You' and 'Love and Desire' as corking examples of this genre. If that is not enough, just listen to the 70's vibe on 'Liar'. Further faves are 'Lost City', 'New Sensation', 'Danger Zone' and 'Free' . This album is another example of fine female fronted rock with an excellent production, which again gets me asking the question I ask of many awsome unsigned bands..why are they not signed? I got into this genre of music years ago because of bands like this. Absolutely essential for lovers of this type of music! 9/10 (Reviewed by Dave)"

May 2007
"......I gave them a fair review. The album in question was "Switch" and since that album the band have been hard at work on its follow up "Circuit Breaker". .....with the new album the band have put the constructive criticism to good use because "Circuit Breaker" is nothing short of astounding. Think Saraya Sahara and Lana Lane and you won't be far off the mark. Crunchy riffs, colourful splashes of keyboards and a vocalist, Alison Taffs, who delivers throughout, all go into making this album very interesting. Take a listen to the Magnumesque and superb "Bankrupt Heart", the tale of desperation that is "All For You" and the pulsating "New Sensation", and you will be left with nothing but a smile on your face.

"Regular Powerplay readers will be familiar with this relatively unknown Essex-based band after we caught up with them in 2005 prior to the recording of "Circuit Breaker". Reports at the time hinted at an excellent follow-up to 2003's "Switch", which cemented the new line-up. Now the wait is over, what is the main result? In a word: fantastic!
The tremendous vocals of Alison Taffs dominates most of the album. She must be one of the strongest female singers out there, certainly in the melodic rock circuit. She shows all kinds of emotions as she effortlessly switches tones at incredible speed and with delicate ease. Taffs is fantastically talented and oozes sexiness on some of the tracks such as "Liar" where she demonstrates the stamina of a young Tina Turner.
The brilliant guitar work of Steve Tsoi is the first thing that grabs you when he rips open the riff to "Bankrupt Heart". The rhythm section of bassist Bob Addis, drummer Paul Docherty and keyboardist Rob Mepham is bulky and well-paced....
Just as the line-up for Firefest IV is announced in February 2007, we get this terrific UK melodic rock release. Without jumping too far ahead into the future, maybe Relay are strong contenders for Firefest V in 2008? Let's hope so.... Powerpoints: 8/10

From review of "circuit breaker" in edition 86 of Powerplay magazine (April 2007).

"This is a fantastic UK melodic rock album with a progressive edge. Filled with terrifically orchestrated melodies, sharp riffs and the sturdy vocals of Alison Taffs, this is a must-have for melodic rock fans."

March 2007

3 years ago we reviewed the strong debut CD of the UK based female fronted Melodic Rockband RELAY, well now they have a follow-up finished and the 2nd CD of RELAY is a real strong album, comparable to a heavier NEXX. Anyone looking for strong 80s influenced female fronted Melodic Hardrock a la VIXEN and some LANA LANE should look no further as this new RELAY CD has got it all... 11 songs are included and it really sounds fresh and impressive, because songs like "Lost city", "Love and desire" and "Danger zone" (one of the ultimate 80s song titles!) are damn catchy. Compared to their debut, the new CD sounds rawer and also has some Classic Rock influences, especially some SABBATH riffs can be heard here and there ("Liar"), but all together this is a real Melodic Hardrockalbum. Point: 8.4 out of 10

"...this band are immensely talented...songs like "Land Of The Free", "Need You Back" and "Unconditional Love" are songs of the highest order. In Alison Taffs they have a quality vocalist whose style has hints of Sandi Saraya and Pam Moore. Guitarist Steve Tsoi can throw shapes and peel out the riffs with the best of them...the best five or six songs from this album released as an EP would have made them the independent CD of the year... A very, very impressive band that will go on to bigger and better things.!

From a review of the band in the AOR section of Issue 63 of Powerplay magazine (February 2005)

"...The good female voice of Alison Taffs together with the music makes me think of artists like Chrissy Steele, Headpins, Pat Benatar and
Fiona. All the songs are written by bass player Bob Addis and guitar player Steve Tsoi, the 15 songs are very strong. You will discover very early that Steve Tsoi is a fantastic good guitar player. By listening constantly to new bands all the time there are individual players who make deeper traces in me than others and Steve's guitar playing is definitely something that takes a step away from the masses of guitarists today with huge skills. The opener Cash, has good vocals, drive and rhythm, and this is one of the things I like very good about Relay. Land Of The Free is much stronger than the first song, it has a beautiful dreamy intro who lasts for about one and a half minute before the song kicks off. I like the punch in the song, the melody line and refrain are just excellent and this is absolutely one of the best Melodic Hard Rock bands with female vocals I have heard in long time! The fifteen songs are all very good and I think it's hard to describe each song, but after a lot of listening I have got myself some favorites; Need you Back, Before You and the ballads Legend and Lately plus the great instrumental The Meaning Of Is. Check out Relay they are an excellent British Melodic Hard Rock gem!"

From a review of Switch on the Latest Reviews page on the Melodic Hard Rock website.

"The combination of powerful vocals, biting guitar work and catchy melodies are making almost every song on this album a true winner for the fans of classic AOR/Melodic Rock. Highlights can be found in the shape of up tempo melodic rockers �Land Of The Free�, �Do You Believe"........"

"The guitar parts on this CD are especially well-recorded...Steve Tsoi coaxes some marvellous classic rock guitar sounds from his Marshall JMP1. The second track has a fantastic lead guitar sound, full of sustain and rich in harmonics, which an echo effect suits perfectly....The interaction of the harmony lead guitar and vocal parts is simply excellent and perfectly balanced...."

From a review of Switch in the July 2004 edition of the recording magazine Sound On Sound.

Two songs from the "Switch" CD (Do You Believe and Easy Target) and one track from Steve's "PowerPlay" solo album (Powerplay) were broadcast by Steve Bauer on 88.5FM WRWR Rochester, New York on The Academy Of Shred radio show on Sunday September 14th, 2003. To hear what Steve Bauer had to say, please click here to download a short MP3.

"It's Over is a pacey and catchy hard rock song like MSG/Emerald Rain with good guitar playing by Steve Tsoi....Coming Home is aggressive and fast and lets Tsoi and Addis show their virtuosity..." From a review of the Chapter III album on the AOR website.

"This is a cracking good rock band...Steve Tsoi is particularly impressive on guitar with some of the best sounds I've ever heard coaxed out of a Marshall JMP1....." From a review of the Chapter III CD by Sound On Sound recording magazine.

All images and words � Relay 2000,2001, 2002,2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008