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Asobi Seksu
When the term "hidden secret" gets tossed around in almost every profile of a band, you start to wonder if it's really true. In the case of Asobi Seksu, it probably is.
Take the very best shoegazer pop, with swirly, textured guitars and bazooka-spatter drumming and melodic basslines and layered synths -- and instead of a dark, lank, moody boy singing about lost love and longing, put a girl -- a sweet-faced Japanese girl with a clarion-clear, gigantic voice who sings in Japanese and English -- out front, still singing about lost love and longing. And just like that, Asobi Seksu turns two iconic cultural products on their ear.
Yuki Chikudate is pretty far removed from the overly-kawaii girls of J-pop -- but without losing that key melodic sensibility of catchy hooks and unforgettable melodies; guitarist James Hanna is certainly not that pasty under-fed English kid fronting a dark and dreamy pop band to flee a dreary existence in a bleak industrial town (he, too, sings on the occasional song). And this is the early 21st century incarnation of shoegaze, sprung from the city that's the heart of the world. The 'New York' sound may be endlessly mocked, but it's given a home to bands that run the gamut from The Walkmen to The National to Interpol -- and yes, Asobi Seksu as well.
And, don't tell any of the other bands at the festival this, but Asobi Seksu may be the one I'm most looking forward to catching out and about during SXSW. And something tells me that that they're not going to be NYC's best secret for much longer. The band has a new album coming out in May, Citrus, that promises to push the envelope of rich, dreamy pop into the song-as-soundscape territory while still preserving catchy hooks and bounce in the background of all those pretty swirling guitar effects.
Asobi Seksu - Walk on the Moon
Asobi Seksu - Umi De No Jusatsu
Asobi Seksu - End at the Beginning
Asobi Seksu's official site, there's more mp3s to be had there as well. Buy their self-titled debut at Amazon or the iTunes Music Store; Citrus will be released May 30, 2006, but you can hear a preview track, "Thursday," on the band's MySpace page.
Shadows tags:asobiseksu.
Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll at 03.09.06 at 10:09 PM
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