Hoahio
Ohayo! Hoahio!

The Hoahio are a trio of Japanese ladies with excellent credentials: front(wo)man Haco, former singer of the cult group After Dinner, Sachiko M, a collaborator of Otomo Yoshihide (Ground Zero) and also with an interesting solo career, and finally Yagi Michiyo, a virtuoso of the koto, a traditional Japanese string instrument.
The album, as Tzadik tradition dictates, is produced with a massive yet skillful use of samples and electronics perfectly blended with excellently played and non-complacent instruments.

The opening track, “Hoahio Song,” is a most peculiar and amusing android chant with a cold and repetitive vocal part accompanied just as alienly by touches of Koto and synth-bass, as well as sampled sighs and pants. It’s one of the standout tracks, though it diverges from the rest of the work, which from the second track on presents an alternation of carefree melodic songs and (h)umorous instrumental tracks.
On the first front, we mention the irresistible “Happy Mail” built on a rhythmic base of mandolin and koto and sung in a slightly (and deliberately) out-of-tune manner by Haco’s sweet voice; although the Japanese text may not be understandable to most, the good mood emanating from this track will surely be contagious. In the same vein but slightly less successful is “Jellyfish,” which, however, with its “cartoon-like” chorus, will surely make you smile. Not funny but still pleasant are the slower “Marimo,” reminiscent of Bjork, and the almost sinister “Invisible fireworks II” with a melody-less singing and a koto that, with a few touches, manages to create an eerie atmosphere.

Then, as we mentioned before, there are the (h)umorous tracks, with the 'h' in parentheses because they are not brutal and fierce assaults on white noise typical of Japanoise but jokes and childish fun, a desire to make a mess. Moreover, it is amusing the contrast these tracks, still harsh, have with the light songs mentioned above.
In this last section, note the “rapid-fire” of “Seeds,” the string buzzing of “Sea wall III,” and the perhaps too lengthy fragmentary improvisation of “Dundun.” Closing the album is unfortunately the sappy “Less Than Lovers More Than Friends,” which vaguely reminds one of “With Or Without You” by U2, perhaps the only episode that could have been done without. Nonetheless, “Ohayo! Hoahio!” remains a delightful and effervescent album, highly recommended for those who want to listen to something that is “light” yet also musically valuable.
Rating: 3.5