Flexible

Following on closely from the limited edition Sampleboard EP, comes Flexible, the debut mini-album from Fox Capture Plan. A piano trio formed by members of Jabberloop, Immigrant's Bossa Band and direction of the chord/nhhmbase, they play an aggressive, but nonetheless catchy form of jazz and have steadily been building up a following on the live circuit. At times, the trio display the energy and playfulness of the Neil Cowley Trio, whilst clearly maintaining the hallmarks of the Japanese club jazz scene. Following straight on the the intro track Right Here, Capture The Initial "F", launches the album in fine style. Composition duties are shared between pianist Ryo Kishimoto and bassist Hidehiro Kawai, though contribute tunes with an uplifting, yet edgy sound. Both 解放される逆光 (Kaisosareru gyakko) which roughly translates as 'free the backlight', and Inflection have a slightly less frantic tempo, but have wonderful melodies and are perhaps the strongest tracks on the set. The cover of Bjork's Hyperballad also works well,though is clearly much more of a song than an instrumental. Being a mini-album, it's all over too soon, but Flexible marks the arrival of an exciting new band. Worth checking out.