The droning textures and shoegaze melodies that make up Aun?s go-to sound are present on ‘Phantom Ghost’; this 8-track collection, however, sees the Canadian duo, Martin Dumais and Julien LeBlanc, steering away from the deeper and darker territory they have previously delved into, and delivers a much lighter and more uplifting collection as a result. Ambient or drone style music is generally associated with soundtracks, and the initial feeling is that the songs on ‘Phantom Ghost’ would sit well alongside a piece of ?lm.
Daft Punk’s ‘Tron: Legacy’ soundtrack comes to mind, or the shades and textures of sci-? classic ‘Blade Runner’. The album does not contain much in the way of climax or resolution, and a slight detraction is some of the promising tracks not developing to a formal point; this could be what some people love about the record, but, at the same time, de?nition is hard to ?nd. The songs ?nish and they are great, but no hooks or memorable passages emerge.
The opener, ‘Phantom’, is light and slow-moving with an indistinguishable female vocal hovering in and out of the mix; this vocal continues on the following track ?Out of Mind?, which is a more industrial track, and shows the Kevin Shields and Trent Reznor in?uences that go on to resonate through the whole album.
The stand-out track is ?Ghost?; it is the only song that could really be heard in isolation as a single, as the other songs on the record require the hues and ambience of what comes before or what is to come after. This is no bad thing, and the state of mind a full sitting of ‘Phantom Ghost’ can induce is quite welcome, as it really does get better the more it is listened to. Like a sonic magic eye picture, if distractions are put aside and the 8 tracks are consumed whole, they really do sharpen up and reveal a fantastic piece of work that can deliver hidden surprises and be listened to many times.
Phantom Ghost is out now via Denovali.
Posted by Gareth Halsall
