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This is a disturbing album. Hanayo and her impressive avant-terroriste cohort begin as they do not mean to go on, with a lovely song, 'Sometimes a girl loves a boy', that is like Takako Minekawa in its whimsical, understated use of the girl-pop idiom. The arrangement is tense, however, with the promise of rather stranger things to come - things in the form of typically Japanese dissonance and angular rhythms layed over electro-beats. Indeed, when one listens to the words and realises the cold cynicism about postmodern sexual manipulation that it reveals its 'sweetness' is somewhat diminished.

She ranges over the entire spectrum of Japanese music, from pop to techno, to post-rock freak-out, and with the assistance of some of the most important of contemporary musicians. The ambiguous restraint falls away on track five, an amazing techno-rave version of the France Gall song 'Les Sucettes', sung frighteningly as Gall did - but ending with the horrifying sense of her being strangled - or worse - by her backing band. Her screams on this track are half-erotic, half-agonising, and it is the combination of child-like voice and bruised sexuality that gives the album its uncomfortable quality. Things settle down again in the irony stakes until a rather chilly electropop track, 'kimigayo', segues into a frighteningly close cover of Vanessa Paradis' 'Joe le Taxi' with archly tacky Kraftwerk synth-pop workout beneath it.

Indeed, Hanayo does the little-girl japanese-thing as well as anyone, and in a much more complicated way. Unlike Haco, Kahimi Karie and others, Hanayo draws on all the dark ambivalence of the Japanese love of the child-woman - as much Salon Kitty as Hello Kitty. The entire album has a weird 'comfort Woman' (as in Japanese enforced military prostitution) and 'Joy Division' (as in the Nazi equivalent)vibe from the cover and liner 'note' onwards.

And Hanayo herself ? A remarkable woman, deserving far more recognition than she does. She has been - often simultaneously - Geisha, film star, and stage actress (in Tokyo and Berlin), author, noted (though, again, slightly disturbing) photographer of children, former The Face covergirl, who has worked with groups as varied as Merzbow, Panacea, Pain Cake, Let's Did It, Die Golden Citronen &C. This album is - in a sense - a distilation of all of these personae Go-Go Geisha Riot Grrrl. This is the Comfort Women do Joy Division : poppy, ironic, beautiful, dystopic, iconic.

whoever said hanayo sounds like björk on robitussin was very, very right. and whoever tried to accuse the other person of being a rascist was just trying to start a fight on the internet. as a huge fan of both björk and robitussin, i can assure you, this is an accurate representation. it's equal parts Plastikman and The Ring, and it's very dark and dysphoric. on track five, it clearly sounds as though she is being raped. it's kind of sad, because i really like the beat of the song, but with her squealing and crying like an anime girl who just met a tentacle monster, it makes me too uncomfortable to listen to it. if you're thinking of buying this CD because you liked "Joe Le Taxi," as i was, i'm not gonna tell you not to buy it, but i'd consider giving it another thought. "Joe Le Taxi" does appear, as a secret track, after 8 minutes of hanayo murmuring over creepy synth sweeps, and i must say i really like the album version, but honestly, it's the only reason i listen to the CD. Also, Track 2 is pretty good.

Please, Hanayo, if you're reading this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make more songs like Joe Le Taxi. it's my favorite song ever.

hanayo is chilling, beautiful, and disturbing all at once
&sort of like bjork on DXM
glad to have this album in my collection: it is refreshing &different
absolutely brilliant