by Sean WestergaardHoahio return after their wildly successful album Ohayo! Hoahio! with a slightly different lineup for Peek-Ara-Boo. Sachiko M has been replaced by percussionist Era Mari, with Yagi Michiyo continuing on koto (and prepared shamisen on one track) and Haco doing vocals and damn near everything else. Haco has a wonderful voice and a gift for melody, whether it's on more traditional sounding tunes like Yachiyo View or avant pop material like DJ Hashimoto. The production is wonderful, and while there's plenty of ear candy, the album is never busy sounding or overdone. The second half of the album takes a bit of a mellow turn, but all of it is interesting. Recommended to fans of experimental avant pop.