Hi-Res Downloads

96kHz/24-bit, FLAC; ECM 5713805 (supplied by www.highresaudio.com)

The title implies a haunted existence – by whom or by what we cannot tell from the imploring nature of this collection of often lengthy jazz instrumentals, some murky and meandering (‘Abandoned Reminder’, ‘The Great Silence’) and others quirky and upbeat (‘New Glory’). Taborn and crew tentatively explore a musical netherworld, here and there casting light into the shadows – ‘Ancient’, for example, opens with an extended, almost inarticulate bass solo, before other instruments reluctantly enter the fray. The repeated, intensifying figures near the end of this piece do achieve an intellectual resolution, if not an emotional one, while the sweetly mournful ‘Jamaican Farewell’ has the listless ambience of a sailing venture undertaken on a nearly windless morning. ‘Phantom Ratio’ follows a similar trajectory, while ‘The Shining One’ provides a bumpier ride. BW

Sound Quality: 85%

Hi-Fi News Lab Report

Aside from some very low-level spikes around 20kHz and 40kHz, this is a very clean 96kHz ECM recording. Percussion accounts for much of the ultrasonic energy but it looks ‘real’ rather than bolstered by distortion. PM