It's also worth noting that for all the unusual arrangements, genre hopping, and stop-start rhythms, Zazen Boys' most unifying characteristic is how accessible it is. Nevertheless, there's a lot more going on in Zazen Boys, with Mukai's vocal style moving further from the tortured yowl that was a defining feature of much of Number Girl's output and diversifying into a kind of ranting stream-of-consciousness near-rap - as on 'Usodarake' and 'Yureta Yureta Yureta' - that is partly reminiscent of New York's the Lapse and even flirts with a soul-style falsetto on the opening track, 'Fender Telecaster.' Throughout the album there's an urge to experiment and move away from the limitations of punk rock, although 'Cold Summer' still retains a lot of the Pixies influence of Mukai's previous band. Zazen Boys' self-titled debut album is in many ways a straight projection of themes that guitarist/vocalist Mukai Shutoku first began to develop with his previous band, Number Girl, particularly on the album Num-Heavy Metallic with its increasing use of funk and dance rhythms as well as elements of traditional Japanese music.
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