THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE PART 1: THE COUNTERPARTS

Different Strings is a band from Malta. The name of the band seems to be a nod towards Rush. The music is not. The music is art rock, some sort of. Art rock of the more symphonic kind. There is also a lot of Italian type pop music here and some jazz. Some prog metal influences is also detectable.

The vocals here is an aquired taste. It does feels like the music has been composed on a piano. There is a lot of nods towards the great piano men on this album. The instrumentation is pretty standard though with a wide variety of tangents, some guitars, some sampled violins, bass and drums.

The ambitions behind this album is huge. Just look at the artwork to get my drift. An half an hour long song also speaks volumes. There are also some really great stuff on this album. But there is also some merely half decent stuff here too. I don't feel the result is as good as the ambitions behind this album and that is the downfall of it. It is still a good album well worth checking out. But it falls a bit short in my view.

3 stars

DIFFERENT STRINGS is the creative of composer and multi-instrumentalist Chris Mallia, and from his base in Malta he has recorded and released his take on progressive rock since 2004. "Sounds of Silence-1 ? The Counterparts" is his second full length production, and was issued on Mallia's own label Progdome towards the tail end of 2011.

Those who prefer their progressive rock to be of an accessible nature, emphasizing distinct moods and strong melodies within a strictly harmonic framework should make out the key audience for Different Strings. Perhaps not among the most advanced as such efforts go, but a well planned, well made and well executed album. As far as specific recommendations go, I'd hazard a guess that fans of bands like Magic Pie might most easily appreciate this production, but due to similarities in approach more than a distinct resemblance in style as such.