Asobi Seksu – Hush

Asobi Seksu deserve to be listened to without the ghosts of the 1980s lurking in your earlobes

Album Review by Nick Mitchell | 06 Feb 2009
Album title: Hush
Artist: Asobi Seksu
Label: One Little Indian
Release date: 16 Feb

The Brooklyn-based duo of Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna caught our attention in 2006 with Citrus, their sumptuous second album. While the obvious reference point for that album was My Bloody Valentine, the sweet aftertaste left by their follow-up Hush is more akin to The Cocteau Twins' glistening soundscapes. But Asobi Seksu deserve to be listened to without the ghosts of the 1980s lurking in your earlobes, because this third album is even better than the last, a stirring work of pop classicism that knows exactly when to surge forcefully skyward and when to play it cool. Chikudate's pristine voice leaves you weak at the knees when it soars on Familiar Light, while Hanna has widened his range on guitar, from the erstwhile shoegaze loops on Glacially to the unobtrusive arpeggios of Layers. The pre-release fear was that they would forgo the tune in favour of the noise, but Asobi Seksu have replied to the doubters with a simple message: Hush. [Nick Mitchell]

Asobi Seksu play ABC2, Glasgow on 14 Feb.

http://www.asobiseksu.com