Asobi Seksu's album Citrus was one of the few indie promos I stumbled upon out of many in 2006 that ended up being a really good album I was happy to have randomly ended up hearing. I've never been big on the original shoegaze bands (probably the only record from that era/scene that I've spent significant time with is the Boo Radleys' Giant Steps), and the newer ones for the most part don't seem terribly interesting to me. But Asobi Seksu at least seemed to capture the blaring sonics in an accurate way, while building on them with some new textures and adding a brighter, girlier pop sensibility to the songs and vocals. And really, a few of the tracks on that album were just massive, tidal wave crescendos and irresistible choruses.

But then, Citrus established Asobi Seksu as the kind of band that had found the exact sound I wanted to hear from them, and any tinkering with that sound, large or small, seemed bound to lose my interest, while I didn't quite love it enough that I'd welcome a retread either. A real damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Still, I gave their new album, Hush, a chance, and the fact that the quartet stripped down to the singer/guitarist nucleus for this album wasn't a good sign. Predictably, given the title and lineup changes, Hush isn't nearly as loud or attention-grabbing as Citrus, and while "In The Sky" has a fetching little melody, the songs aren't grabbing me enough to overlook the less appealing sound. Still, I've heard they're good live, and I'm hoping when they come to Baltimore later this month the show will help bring the album to life for me.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 16, 2009 at 11:50 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.