A.C.T - Silence
On their fourth album now, A.C.T. have blossomed into one of the most interesting prog/pop/rock/pomp bands on the European scene. Even that clumsy description seems inadequate. The music is indefinable, arguably unique and certainly satisfying.

You can hear Jellyfish, Queen, Valentine . . . eighties pomp percolated through seventies rock and pop. It's got all of the invention and instrumental meld of a band like Kansas or Rush, but with better tunes.

The songs seem fragile yet tightly constructed. The melodies seem light and airy, yet they are as sturdy and robust as the heaviest of metals. You just never expect the band's tightly coiled, serpentine song arrangements to unravel. The paradigm gets shifted every five minutes.

'Silence' is innovative and imaginative, full to bursting with beautiful songs that touch your emotional pulse like few mainstream rock albums could ever hope to do.

Opener 'Truth Is Pain' captures all these elements, morphing from an almost Abba like verse with strings, keyboards and angelic voices sighing away in the background to thudding, proggy rhythms and barbed guitars.

'Puppeteers' recalls US cult band Jetliner in the way it resurrects catchy, colourful seventies pop, then gives it a contemporary spin.

'No Longer Touching Ground' has some magical ELO-esque pop music moments, while

'Call In Dead' has that same burlesque quality that Valentine does so well, an all-join-in music hall, knockabout feel, with Beatle / Beach Boys-ish undertones.

Among many tracks of a witheringly high standard, 'Into The Unknown' and 'Hope' stand out. The band make the first's beautifully resolved hook and the second's gear shift into a hard rocking middle section appear effortless. The first time you hear them you have difficulty lifting your jaw off the floor.

On the downside, sometimes you wish it was all a bit louder . . . that the guitars were further up in the mix on this song, the keyboards further up on that song and so forth. But that's probably only the thoughts of a philistine who doesn't truly appreciate the album's subtleties. Or maybe I've just been listening to Korn too much.

One thing you could not do is accuse ACT of conformity. Many bands spurn convention of course, but few do it so skilfully and passionately. That's what makes the difference.

Written by Brian
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Show all reviews by Brian

Ratings

Brian: 8/10

Members: No members have rated this album yet.


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RevelationZ Comments


Comment by petyo tonev (Anonymous) - Saturday, September 30, 2006
Another great disc from A.C.T and I think the best this year. It`s hard to definite the style, but music is always melodic and joyful.
9.5/10


Comment by Colonel.Solo (Anonymous) - Saturday, October 7, 2006
After seeing A.C.T for the very first time supporting Saga I was hooked. I have bought all of their albums and have seen the band 14 times. Silence is a definate change from the previous albums in the fact it is more subtle, that is in no way a negitive thing, the production on Silence is for me superior, the clarity can be heard of every instumtant being played. Alot of thought has gone into the musical araingement of thier latest offering. As ever each track changes tempo in true A.C.T tradition, always keeping the listener on their toes. I had to listen to the album several times before fully immersing myself into it. I played the first half of the album only at first picking out my personal favourites. For me Useless argument stands out from the crowd. What a wonderfull rollercoaster of rythmns, harmonies, and a general feel good song. The second half of the album "Consequences" tells a story which once you have heard from start to finish makes you think "WOW" what an epic tale, one that would be great for a theatre show to follow. Each song is a mini song in one large song if you know what I mean. Again a few songs stand out straight away, Call in Dead and A Fathers Love. Call in Dead is just a quirky little number that is short, but leaves you wanting to play it over and over again. A Fathers love is sung with so much emotion from Herman, coupled with Jerrys excellant voice the harmonies inthe middle of this song make your hairs stand up. All in all once again A.C.T have delivered the goods, came up triumpant and have made yet another cracker of an album. If you ilke thier previous albums you will not be dissapointed, just give it a few spins and you will be hooked.
Well done to A.C.T, Graham Collins (Manager) and Inside out.


Comment by Pat (Anonymous) - Sunday, January 7, 2007
Nice review, but I cringed seeing you compare them to Rush and Kansas.











Review by Brian

Released by
InsideOut Music - 2006

Tracklisting
Truth Is pain
Puppeteers
This Wonderful World
Out Of Ideas
Hope
Into The Unknown
No Longer Touching Ground
Useless Argument
The Voice Within
Call In Dead
Silent Screams
Introduction
The Millionaire
Joanna
A Father's Love
Memory To Fight
The Diary
Wound That Won't Heal
The Final Silence

Supplied by The Tora Company / Target


Style
prog/pomp/prog/aor

Related links
Visit the band page

Other articles
Todays Report : Imaginary Friends : Last Epic (Re-issues) - (Brian)



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