Asobi Seksu - Asobi Seksu

Asobi Seksu

Asobi Seksu
Friendly Fire Records.

SCQ Rating: 75%

Asobi Seksu, a New York indie-pop outfit starring Japan-born Yuki Chikudate on vocals and keyboard, don’t pull any punches. For one, their cover features Yuki lying on a floor-bound mattress with tear-stained tissues, old polaroids, flower petals and a record player; if this twenty-something posturing doesn’t provide a visceral hint of the musical and lyrical fodder you’ll be presented with…, well, stay away from this record. Of course, there’s always the helpful phrase ‘Dream Pop’ printed in the left corner, in case you’re not into surprises. I’m not trying to sound critical – truthfully I think the cover is brilliant, if not a tad overbearing – and it suits Asobi Seksu’s debut in the most complimentary way.

If you need any more proof that this band swings hard, listen to the squall of ‘Sooner’, a bouncy pop song that explodes into a deafening chorus that will please any My Bloody Valentine fans. Their shoegaze ambition, proclaimed loudest in the epic ‘It’s Too Late’, is only one of Asobi Seksu’s many musical facets as their self-titled also explores twee-rock and cosmopolitan lounge through their full-blooded dream-pop. The variety presented here is additionally strengthened by a second vocalist, guitarist James Hanna, who gives a hipster snarl to the pre-party stroll of ‘Let Them Wait’. Although many of these genre-takes aren’t worth writing home about, Asobi Seksu are accomplished at performing them, rough corners and all.

Referring back to that cover art, Asobi Seksu (meaning “playful sex”, for those interested) is a sweetly written and rawly executed debut; capable of stirring all the liberating and painful moments of a relationship falling apart. Taken best in the lead single ‘I’m Happy But You Don’t Like Me’, sad-sack depression isn’t a requisite to heartbreak.