LOVE SONGS

Love songs without words. In place of a voice expressing an aching heart, there are harmonicas whose sound is familiar to everyone. Their unadorned tone seems ideally suited to the murmur of someone in love. The moonshine of A1 recalls the homemade liquor of America's Prohibition era: a romantic magic akin to a forbidden drink. Surrender to that intoxicating effect, and before long it feels as though a swaying harp player is drifting across the starry sky. This deeply affecting third album was released by the Hirano brothers, Hajime on drums and Tooru on harmonica, who came from Daddy-O, Yuming's backing band at the time of her debut.