Since the demise of Porcupine Tree, Colin Edwin has been busy. In addition to his session work and an upcoming solo album, he’s also a member of bands such as Astarta/Edwin, Twinscapes, Endless Tapes, Metallic Taste Of Blood and O.R.k. One of Edwin’s most high-profile projects is Burnt Belief, a collaboration with American guitarist Jon Durant. Their third all-instrumental album, Emergent, is so richly textured in its sonic dimensions that it feels virtually tactile.
On The Confidence Of Ignorance, the smooth sheets of Durant’s guitar offers a dynamic contrast to the bumpy braille of Edwin’s bass. Notes ping, reverberate and echo like sonar emissions during the minimalist Until the Stars Go Out. The ethereal Ghosts Aquatic levitates thanks to drummer Vinny Sabatino’s subtle touch and the way Durant’s notes seem to hang suspended in the air. Best of all is the title track, where Edwin plays whorls of bass in a style that’s as distinctive as a fingerprint. Somehow, Durant makes his sinuous, effects-laden guitar sound like a snake charmer’s woodwind instrument. Burnt Belief might be labelled new age or fusion, but those terms seem too fusty for music this colourful and vibrant.
