With "Fourth", Tout has crafted an album that feels like an intimate gathering of musical minds - an elegant dinner party where contemporary classical, jazz, and ambient music exchange glances across the table, while folk and new age traditions peek wistfully through the window. It’s an album that’s as thoughtful as it is exploratory, offering a deeply textured experience that invites both close listening and meditative immersion.

Nick Downes and Jonathan Fryer, the core duo of Tout, set the foundation for "Fourth" in their London studio before calling in a cadre of collaborators to weave their magic into the mix. The result is a work that’s as much about connection and interplay as it is about composition. From the bowed strings of Donna McKevitt and Christopher Bangs to the saxophone flourishes of Christian Berg and Martin Clarke, each contributor leaves a distinct mark while serving the album’s overarching vision.

Opening track “I Rob the Rich to Feed the Poor” sets the tone with a serene yet cinematic unfolding of tonal drones, bowed bass, and shimmering reeds. It’s a statement piece that introduces the album’s dual nature: at once spacious and intimate, expansive yet grounded. The track titles themselves read like fragments of an old ballad, lending a lyrical quality that mirrors the album’s narrative flow.

Tracks like “Which Hardly Is a Sin” and “A Widow Ne'er Knocked at My Door” bring a subtle interplay of textures, where synth washes and wandering percussion dance alongside strings and reeds. The Americana vistas of Tout’s earlier work have morphed into something more ambiguous and timeless - a soundscape that feels both ancient and futuristic, like a forgotten memory of a place you’ve never been.

The album reaches its emotional peak with “I Don’t Deserve Your Curses”, a track that layers reverberating drones with a haunting saxophone line that seems to sigh with both regret and resilience. Meanwhile, the brief yet poignant “And If for Any Cause I’m Hung” closes the album with a quiet resolve, its sparse instrumentation leaving a lingering sense of introspection.

Nicholas Siddall’s mix deserves special mention for its tactile intimacy. You can hear the scrape of bow on string, the breath across reeds, and the faint resonance of fingers on frets. This meticulous attention to detail draws you into the album’s human core, even as its ambient washes and tonal experiments transport you to otherworldly realms.

For long-time fans of Tout, "Fourth" is a natural evolution - mature, ambitious, and richly rewarding. For newcomers, it’s an inviting entry point into the band’s ever-expanding universe. Either way, it’s an album that feels timeless and timely, deeply personal yet universally resonant.

With its masterful balance of structure and spontaneity, atmosphere and melody, "Fourth" is both a departure and a return - proof that Tout’s journey is far from over, and that their best moments may still lie ahead.