The fourth full-length album from New York-bred Gym Class Heroes is a veritable patchwork collaborative that goes a long way in relaying that, besides advancing their collective musical talent over the past two years, the innovative rap quartet have furthered their networking pleasantries considerably since the 2006 release of 'Cruel as School Children'.

'The Quilt' is pieced together by the respective lyrical dexterity of lead vocalist Travis McCoy, rapper extraordinaire Busta Rhymes, dashing songstress Estelle and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy fame, to name but a few, and comes laced with the production prowess of Cool, Dre and Tricky Stewart.

Once again attempting to typify a Gym Class Heroes offering is a near unachievable objective, as McCoy, his posse and the introduction of cameo contributions aplenty blur the lines between pop, rock, rap and hip-hop.

Bouncing from the sublime gangster rap of Rhymes in 'Peace Sign Index Down' and the harmonious choruses in the Estelle-infused 'Guilty As Charged' to the ska-permeated musings of 'Blinded By The Sun' and the reggae-ravaged 'Drnk Txt Rmeo', the 14-track album astounds at every turn in its diversity and leftfield persuasion.

"It's just going to be a real solid record. Disashi [Lumumba-Kasongo, guitarist] is just a monster on the new stuff," McCoy enthused before their latest release.

"You're going to hear a lot more of him singing on this one and a lot more of his guitar skills that I don't think he really got to flex on the last record."

Lumumba-Kasongo doesn't disappoint, his ample ability on the axe exemplified by the grooving riffs that allow ‘Home’ to encompass all that is revolutionary about a band that have taken the advancements of contemporaries like N.E.R.D and The Roots that much further with their own blend of vocal-threaded instrumentalism.

The dodgy metaphors littering 'Cookie Jar' and the pained crooning in 'Like Father, Like Son (Papa’s Song)' somewhat stain an otherwise colourful production. Thankfully though, the creative input of Stump, Dre and the like are around to keep the frayed stitches of 'The Quilt' at a minimum.