The standout moment on this interesting album, ‘It Is Deeper Than Is Wide’, could be something of a leitmotif for the group as well as the subterranean subject of the title. There are only four musicians to be heard, yet there is a richness and attention to detail in the sound palette and interaction of the players that often suggests a larger group, or possibly one with more technological resources at its disposal. At the heart of the work is a delicious question mark over whether some of the timbres are electric or acoustic. Morris’ guitar in particular appears right on the edge of those two worlds, producing quicksilver motifs with such sharpness they suggest pizzicato strings yet also crackling away on occasion as if plugged into an amp, while Reid's cello has a lightness and fullness of tone to provide both echo and counterpoint. The entwinement and dispersion of various lines is thrilling at times, especially when Kitamura, known for her work with Braxton (like Reid and Ho Bynum) moves from presto, almost hiccoughing wordless vocal to screams like a solid block chord, adding heat to the already febrile push of the music. Ho Bynum's well-placed muted and bass trumpets are also crucial to the dynamic range of the material, but this really is a collaborative endeavour in the truest meaning of the term. At times the sense of balance and proportion is lost as the narrative thread unravels under the barrage of inquiring sounds. Players could occasionally drop out to create some more breathing space. However, the creative peaks of the quartet, the moments when the musicians, pushing at the limits of their respective instruments, hit upon something resoundingly personal, are more than worth any of the troughs.