Empirical are becoming more and more unpredictable with each recording, which is what we should expect of our young jazz artists. Now with a stable four-year-old line up, following their 2011 album Elements of Truth, Empirical have for their fourth, and double, CD recording ambitiously aligned themselves with an all-female chamber group the Benyounes Strings. Formed during the band’s fellowship residency at the Trinity College of Music and Drama, this isn’t a ‘third stream’ fusion as such but nor is it one of those recordings that keep you guessing as to when the composition ends and the improvisation begins. The writing is shared more or less equally between the band and the interest is in the elements of texture and sound. The tightly structured arrangements are nicely tempered by some edgy, energetic group spontaneity, while M-Base-like irregular rhythmic accents give an excitement to the recording. Empirical combine an urgent rhythmic punch with an otherworldly sonic. With repeated listening this makes for a recording that is gripping throughout.