Nick Walters has been busy. Implicate Order is the first offering from Walters' new label D.O.T, and the third from the trumpeter's group The Paradox Ensemble. Walters resists the urge to extend this release to a full album, to the benefit of the material already here. Despite the title's unifying suggestion (Implicate Order borrows from physicist David Bohm's holistic view of the universe) the EP happily accommodates a variety of somewhat incongruent ideas.

Implicate Order covers a lot of ground in short space of time. From the Monk-ish opener ‘The Underdog' through the ‘Volta Region', inspired by the rhythms of Eastern Ghana's borderlands, we hear strong solo contributions balanced by punchy orchestrations. These intricate arrangements elevate the EP above previous Paradox releases – the combination of Aidan Shepherd's supple accordion solo, Walters' rooted electronic pulses and a rock-solid sousa grounding makes ‘Diminishing Returns' a high point. There's a lot to admire on this release – check out Lorna Robertson's striking album artwork too.