ETYMOLOGY

Hanging hooks.

Been waiting the release of Burnt Belief's second project, , more than everything else due to their astounding "Burnt Belief", 2012 album, I, in the meantime listened to their solo projects.

Burnt Belief as you may know consist of Jon Durant and Colin Edwin, basically (there are more session musicians involved). Colin Edwin is as you know part of the ultimately trend-setting prog-band Porcupine Tree, alongside the highly appreciated as hated Steven Wilson. So, as I was telling , in the meantime I listened to Colin Edwin's masterpiece "PVZ" and the very good "Third Vessel " and to Jon Durant's quiet good "Dance Of The Shadow Planets" .

Anyway, "Etymology", 2014, opposite to their first project, shows more the hand of Jon Durant than the more daring , experimental and electronic Colin Edwin's one.

And in fact I underline daring, "Etymology", although perfectly conceived, achieved and performed is in the long run somehow too predictable.

Rooting most of its compositions in a strange, mild multinational focus, what eventually surfaces is a "Santana/Di Meola" kind of guitar hanging hooks, riffs and rhythms , which as you also may know are considered Fusion/Jazz with a "Latin" seasoning. And sadly the same as Al or Carlos, even their virtuoso skills, means s#%t, when it comes to songwriting.

Therefore if you are not that opposed to this "Latin" flavors you may get quiet a rush, but for me, I've have heard it before. Damn! So predictable!

Colin Edwin's "electronic environments" although scarce, and Durant's not "latin" acoustic moments, save this one a bit above the "good but not essential" category.

***3.5 PA stars. Damn!!!

The danger with many experimental rock bands is often found in their lackluster desire to overdo their talent by eschewing structure and shove massive doses of technique down the gullet of unsuspecting fans in search of new horizons. The senseless noise can be quite unpleasant and somewhat masturbatory, pleasing only the perpetrators and their immediate family. That being said, there are modern instrumentalists who rely on their dedication to structure AND melody, doing virtuoso stuff while keeping their eyes on the prize. Bands like Herd of Instinct and Spoke of Shadows are inspirational examples of this new style and they represent a new dawn in progressive rock. The collaboration between guitarist Jon Durant and master bassist Colin Edwin has already yielded a thrilling debut that was universally acclaimed by both fans and critics, pushing sonic boundaries with exalting arrangements and explosive deliveries. "Burnt Belief" remains a sterling effort and perhaps a hard act to follow. Barely 2 years later, "Etymology" keeps the pulse going, predominantly propelled by ex-Porcupine Tree bassist Edwin, whose wobbly style shakes the foundations and abetted by a trio of guests drummers (Sabatino, McCormick and Duque) as well as No-Man's violinist Steve Bingham. Guitarist Jon Durant is a coloring specialist, very inspired to boldly go beyond the norm and add a slithering array of tones and textures to his playing.

There certainly is a smart formula at work here, a sensorial adventure that scours the outermost perspectives with Durant sounding like Andy Summers one moment and David Torn the next, with even a little Santana thrown in for good measure. But, for me and many others, this music's entire genius is anchored heavily in Colin Edwin's spirited playing, very upfront and natural, even bellicose when necessary. This is a bass player's manifesto, suggesting at such four strung maestros as the legendary Mick Karn (RIP), Jah Wobble (PIL) and Mister basso profundo himself, Tony Levin. He bends, pulls, throttles and caresses his strings with undeniable expression throughout this sophomore effort. At times, his sumptuous playing is like some king cobra with its prey in sight, ready to lunge. Yeah, deadly!

Many stellar tracks such as the opener "Chromatique", which sets the mood right from the start, the manic mathematics of "Dissemble", the spooky the Police-like eeriness of the dreamy "Convergence" but what the heck, the entire set list is first class experimental fusion/prog of the finest vintage. Things can get very morose and vaporous such as the brooding "White Keys", where there is a quasi-Weather Report feel, circa "Sweetnighter", opens the door even wider to fusion and jazz-rock aficionados. The colossus piece is the 11 minute+ megalith "Not Indifferent" which has all the trappings of a classic prog epic. A sensual but circuitous bassline really provides the sonic anaesthesia, Edwin meandering in full control, submerged in dense guitar atmospherics, as well as stupendous percussion work, creating a sonic jungle of twisted vines, lush underbrush and piercing rays of sunlight. Totally subjugating stuff as the second section kicks into life with thunderous abandon as if ruthless predators had just conquered the peaceful clearing, chasing away the frightened prey. On a track like "Hover", the serenity instills deep reflection and introspection, acoustic guitar in a near Al diMeola style, calmly reflective. Edwin's 'delicatesse' is in the gentle breath of his bass playing. Two 6 minute pieces finish off the recording, "Chimera" being bouncy and exotic, while the closer "Squall" retains a clever urban feel, sunglasses filtering the blistering gleams as they reflect off the glass and steel architecture, in contrast to the cover artwork's nighttime effect.

A worthy follow up to the amazing debut, "Etymology" is a fine piece of modern progressive rock.

4.5 Derivation of words

Multinational project BURNT BELIEF was, from what I understand, instigated when guitarist Jon Durant and bassist Colin Edwin collaborated for an album they chose to call Burnt Belief, and the name of that album was then chosen when they decided to make more music as a creative partnership. So while there is in fact two Burnt Belief albums, "Etymology" is the first one to be released under that artist name. The CD was released in the fall of 2014 through Jon Durant's own label Alchemy Records.

One aspect of this production worth mentioning is that aside from a piano, no keyboards was used in the creation of this music. The guitar, in various guises, is the instrument used to create most of the sounds, effects and textures that will make most listener think about keyboards or synthesizers. You will have to give this CD a spin to understand just why I mention this little factoid I guess, but it is still a detail to take note of for future reference.

As for the music itself, I suspect this is one of those albums that will have genre nerds tearing their hair out while having a look of slight despair in their face. Pigeonholing or categorizing this production into any specified niche is a task that would make even hardened masochists cry out for the task given to them being just too sadistic. Personally I suspect that I'll file it under jazzrock somewhere, probably with a note stating contemporary attached.

It's not that this is a purebred jazzrock production, but many of the compositions does fall within that range as I experience them, and in addition there are numerous instances of instruments providing jazz-oriented details throughout. Rhythms and bass in particular, but not exclusively by any means. Guitarist Durant as well as guest violinist Bingham also caters to details in that department quite nicely.

This album isn't really about style or genre though, but more about a certain approach I suspect, where the stylistic attributes are rather more accidental. Hovering, floating, ambient sound textures is a central feature throughout, sometimes as more of an ethereal soft presence, on other occasions with more of a cosmic laden expression, but also with a firmer, distinct sound of the kind that brings automatic associations towards the likes of Robert Fripp with them. Backed by appealing drum patterns, percussion and electronic rhythms and intriguing basslines, we're taken on a multitude of different rides with those main elements, supplemented by various instances of elegantly plucked guitar motifs, firm but dampened guitar riffs, occasional darker toned and more dominating guitar riffs and effects and a liberal amount of guitar solo sequences as an additional feature.

The songs tend to ebb and flow in pace and intensity, with just as much room for a delicate, cinematic ambient interlude as for tighter passages that, at least on one occasion, actually brought Porcupine Tree to mind ever so slightly. Unusual and mystical arrangements are created, adding a touch of world music to the proceedings, on other occasions the composition may sound rather similar to an early 1980's King Crimson piece, and if someone ever desired to investigate the bastard child of the latter and late 80's Ozric Tentacles, bonus track Charlatan caters for such a desire quite nicely.

But whether this creative duo are exploring more ambient landscapes, Crimsonian sounds or more cosmic or mystical sounding territories, there's always some jazz or jazzrock details either present or not too far away. As such I would suspect that liberal minded jazzrock fans would be something of a key audience for this album, although much the same can be said for those with a soft spot for ambient music as well as an expansive taste for diverse music in general and elegant, sophisticated music of multiple genres in particular.