Guitarist David Torn was a key member of Jan Garbarek's quartet in the mid-1980s, around the same time he cut his first few albums for ECM – of which this is the third. It's something of a departure from label-boss Manfred Eicher's trademark pristine hush: here, Torn spatters a queasy, calorific mess of synthetic electronic textures that sound very much a product of the decade that spewed them. Somewhere underneath is a world-class prog-fusion supergroup, featuring members associated with both Yes and King Crimson but, with Bill Bruford solely playing an electronic kit, there's a distinct lack of bite. Pieces like ‘Snapping The Hollow Reed’ could even pass for the chiming, soft-focus, minimalist cycles of Philip Glass's Koyaanisqatsi score, with Torn's guitar wafting from gauzy billow to rippling burble. Nonetheless, once you immerse yourself in its soporific pastels, it's possible to detect more piquant hints: Mark Isham's muted trumpet carries a distinct echo of Don Cherry, while Torn's long, soaring lines sound most urgent riding a bulbous robo-funk rhythm. How they might have sounded unplugged is anyone's guess.