The New York based Asobi Seksu have been around in one form or another (originally calling themselves "Sportfuck") since about 2001. The band is composed of two members, Yuki Chikudate (vocals, keyboards) and James Hanna (guitar, vocals). Hush (2009) is the band's third full length since going by the name Asobi Seksu. Some of the instrumental and vocal elements of this release remind me of My Bloody Valentine, though without the heavy distortion and layers, and overall I wouldn't say this is a strong comparison. Yuki Chikudate's vocals are unique and do alot to set the band's sound apart from other similar sounding groups. The instrumental portion of the music provides a soft, full backdrop, with the appropriate mood to match the vocals and allow the vocals to take the lead.
Asobi Seksu - "Familiar Light"
Yuki Chikudate's wonderful high end vocal range is on show in this song. The percussion does a good job of supporting the builds, plateaus, and waves of vocals. The beat is steady and accented by the snare drum hits and rolls. A very clear and crisp sounding recording assists in allowing each of the instruments (including the vocals here) to sound individually through on the song. It gets a bit more lush as the music soars over the vocals (a rarity on the record) momentarily before returning followed by feedback and noise closing out the song.
Asobi Seksu - "Blind Little Rain"
"Blind Little Rain" is the closing track on this album and is relatively short; there is a break of silence before a hidden portion of the song. The duel vocals sung with a tinge of reverb sound good over the slow drumming and freely expand and stretch through the song. The song sits as a bit sad sounding but not difficult, a good song to close the record out. Following the silent break, theres about forty seconds of soft instrumental music.
If I had to find a detraction from this album it would be that it seems to lose steam about halfway through. I took a second to double check the number of songs on this album (12) and concluded that it may have been better to shorten things up a bit as there are a few "filler" songs on the second half. There are a few really good "pop" songs in there, but I find this type of music doesn't necessarily translate to a full albums worth of gripping material. The good songs within are really good though and worth checking out.
