Search - Haco :: Haco

Haco is so cool.

George T. Parsons | Nevada City, CA | 05/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Haco has been making remarkable experimental pop art music with After Dinner and doing live performances for some time now. This 1995 release is her solo debut, mostly in her native Japanese (with one track in English and a couple others featuring some English segments) but feeling like it came from some slightly happier planet. She's been fairly compared to Kate Bush, Bjork and Dagmar Krause, to that list of like-minded folks I'd like to add: Cibo Matto, Christine Baczewska, the Raincoats, Pamela Golden and Laurie Anderson. Accessible and challenging, this is pure dream pop magic in action. I love: Excellent Waves, Would You Like Some Mushrooms?, Ice, A Fragment, and Oil & Water...but really, there's not a bad track. Musicians include; Tsuneo Imahori, Tom Cora, and Samm Bennett (of Chunk and the Kropotkins)."

Haco makes Enchanting Experimental Pop

Azeem | Chicago,IL United States | 08/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first album i got with Haco. This started my obsession with her music. This is an album that can change your life. Every song is ground breaking and very minimal compared to most of Haco's other projects I've heard. The album opens with a great new wave-like whirl with Unguarded. The song alternates between grating guitar, thumping drums and Haco's spoken word parts. Then you get to catch your breathe with Guarded. Would You Like Some Mushrooms sounds the most like traditional Japanese music if it wasn't for the surrealist lyrics. This song has many classic lines in it. The singing is beautiful. A Fragment is a pulsating song with a heart breaking chorus. It sounds like something and nothging you've heard before at the same time. One of the best on the album. Excellent Waves, like most of this album is very moody. I feel like I'm watching the sun rise and the water fall on the shore. Not in a cheesy new age sort of way. This is a very natural sounding song. The Way Things Go bounces along with a great melody. The mechanical drumming is in great contrast the the very human, innocent singing. Ice is an amazing operatic style song. The violin flutters above the melody in a graceful way. And finally, Oil and Water feels like laying in water at night and watching the stars. The song reaches around you and is the most peaceful thing on the album, maybe even the most peaceful thing youve ever heard. Overall, this album mixes great melodies with minimal sound(usually) and experimental drips all rushing through. It feels like a party with Japanese folk musicians and Salvador Dali, David Byrne and Kate Bush show up. This started me on my musical exploration of this curious artist. Also pick up anything and everything from Hoahio and After Dinner."

Uncommonly Unique and Unusual Music from Japan

Azeem | 01/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Haco, formerly the lead singer and songwriter of the 80s band After Dinner, has unfortunately not received the recognition she deserves. Her unique blend of Japanese, Western, avant-garde, SF, and surrealistic elements along with the addition of guests such as the late cellist Tom Cora and the percussionist Samm Bennett make this CD one of a kind. To compare it with something else would detract from its appeal, it must be heard to be understood."