Sleeping on the Edge of the World
David Helpling's sophomore effort fulfills the promise of his first CD,Between Green and Blue. The guitarist is still influenced byPatrick O'Hearn, sharing the same penchant for smoldering, sensual rhythms and simple yet highly evocative melodies. He arranges it all on guitar and synthesizers, although it's often difficult to tell which is which. Helpling sends his guitar through a stream of effects and delays, using volume swells to mask its attack, turning his stringed instrument into an ambient orchestra. Across sequencer rhythm loops that sound like a pan-ethno drum troupe floating in space, Helpling layers surging synth pads draped with simple melodies that create a moody, cinematic expanse. Because he's a guitarist, Helpling has a natural sense of phrasing that eludes many keyboardists in this area of melodic electronics.--John Diliberto