"Furthered" is the new album by Alex Ward Item 4. The quartet's music is the fullest realization of Ward's long-standing desire to create a context where his compositional concerns can coexist with improvisation of the most unfettered stripe. Given a line-up which would be perfectly capable of creating compelling music without recourse to pre-written elements at all, Ward's compositions aim to function as another "personality" within the overall mix, subject to the same spontaneous interrogation, negotiation and transformation that would naturally go on between the participants in a freely-improvised performance.

The musicians in Item 4 are amongst the most exciting and distinctive in the current London scene, and their rapport pays testament to the close working relationships they have developed in this and numerous other ensembles. The bold angles and asymmetrical construction of "Cypherned"'s opening theme are quickly broken open by Ward's splintered guitar attack and Andrew Lisle's hyperactively virtuosic drumming, initiating a multi-faceted group improvisation which navigates diverse territories before resolving to a subdued yet ominous conclusion. This paves the way for the elegiac "The Cusp", in which Ward switches to clarinet to join with Charlotte Keeffe's broad-toned yet fleetly inventive trumpet in a plangent front-line. Once again the improvisation deftly balances collective and soloistic activity, including an unearthly unaccompanied arco passage from bassist Otto Willberg. Finally, the extended suite that comprises tracks 3 & 4 ("Our/Hours" and "Ours") encompasses unpredictably twisting thematic statements, high-energy soloing from horns and drums, mysterious collective abstractions, and an epic, swelling final section which takes the album into almost post-rock territory without jettisoning the interactive spontaneity which underpins all of the quartet's music.