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By the time the nine-minute "Gohyaku Manyen" concludes, listeners will have a fairly tight grasp on what Z are setting out to accomplish on Mikabe. In an apparent attempt to translate punk rock into jazz, former members of There is a Light That Never Goes Out have shifted their genre focus without losing an ounce of intensity. Led by the wailing of vocalist Jun Nemoto, the free-form compositions are intensely challenging. Splitting his singing time with the atonal leads of his saxophone, Nemoto's presence is felt constantly throughout the album. At times this overwhelming presence masks the nuanced effort of the other members. The drumming of brother Ayumu Nemoto, while not groundbreaking, is able to bind together a very bizarre combination of sounds. Guitarist Kei Uozo makes an extremely convincing transition to avant-garde jazz, switching between common punk chords and more difficult voicings. The only new member of the group, bassist Takahiro Yamada, similarly bounces between legitimate jazz, progressive metal, and simple, raw punk. At times, the experiment is successful; influences of punk blend well with progressive chord voicing, arpeggios, and rhythms. Yet in tracks such as "Zushiki Man," there is an extremely intense focus on the irritating saxophone lead for an extended portion of the track. However, in tracks like the brilliant "Ikusa," the work of Nemoto on sax is both veiled and powerful. This constant shift of timbre, while distracting, proves to be ultimately rewarding when the group does compose itself. "Netsumonogatari" hints at Tortoise-like post-rock, led by an airy flute played by Nemoto, eventually building into a manic finale, anchored by a military drum beat and screaming vocals. By the point of the final track "Daikainenten," Z have apparently squeezed their punk influence dry as they turn to lounge-jazz - surprisingly convincingly after performing the angst-filled tracks that preceded it. As an album, Z's method holds up fairly well, even if it is to a lesser extent when listening to certain individual tracks.

Z at Amazon & Insound