Haco
, former
After Dinner
frontwoman, and a beautiful and charismatic singer in
avant-pop
contexts (her forays in
improvisation
and
lo-fi
pop
are less convincing) meets cellist
Hiromichi Sakamoto
of the
Pascals
. In fact,
Ash in the Rainbow
is a rewriting and re-recording of
Sakamoto
's 1999 solo album
Zero Shiki
.
has added lyrics, vocal melodies and electronics to his instrumental tunes to create a whole new work. Close in spirit to
's first solo CD (simply titled
), which also featured a close collaboration with a cellist (
Tom Cora
), this album attempts and succeeds in uniting the acoustic sound palette of
-- cello, musical saw, pianica and toys -- and
's computer arrangements, including backward tracks, electronics, and processed vocals. The title track is an instant charmer: the lyrics ("I tried to catch/the rainbow that rose out/of the sprinkler mist") fit the musical saw theme like a glove, not to mention the reversed beatbox track and vibraphone (by
Mari Era
, who appears in a handful of tracks). Other highlights include
"Zero Hills,"
"Hot Road"
and the closer
"Deep Sky,"
heartwarmingly tender in a strange way with its music box, pianica and vocoder vocals.
is still the queen of intelligent Japanese
provides another reason to fall in love with her, again. And if you haven't heard the
yet, you will feel a strong urge to do so. ~ Francois Couture