With some of the same tone and feeling as Nik Bärtsch's Ronin modal improvisations, this album of the postmodern avant-garde trio The Bad Plus demonstrates why they were selected for the recent album of Disney covers, Everybody Wants to Be a Cat. Their deconstruction of familiar tunes and their own compositions (three by bassist Anderson, two by drummer King, and one by pianist Iverson) are energetic and often noisy. Each musician is a percussionist, each a melody maker. The scratchy, nervous music may be jarring to many, but others may appreciate the cleverness, humor, and audacity. The lyricism between the discord, as with track 5, Giant, arises as a fresh breeze. The well-matched team of musicians create a fresh, bright and challenging sound. The problem is that repeated listening tarnishes that brilliance. The musical approach soon seems to be only a gimmick.