Another of the obscurities of 1980's melodic rock has been dug out of the vaults by MTM and remastered. Alexa was a chanteuse who enjoyed a professional partnership (and maybe more?) with Paul Sabu, the man whose albums used to be overhyped by ‘Kerrang' back in the day.

Despite a glossy production from Sabu that sounds very dated now, the songs are strong, notably Wanderlust with its absolutely massive chorus and We don't remember why, with keyboards well to the fore, Dance the Night Away and From Now On are all catchy slices of melodic rock. In fact there is not a weak tune among the ten (no bonus tracks have been unearthed).

Alexa's booming, at times gruff tones- in stark contrast to the higher-pitched wails of both women and men alike in this genre of music- also help the album stand out from the multitude of similar releases- imagine soul belters like Anastacia but in a rock context.

Having heard this album for the first time in many years, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and it was well worthy of reissue.

****

Review by Andy Nathan

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly