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Album Reviews
Album Review: Asobi Seksu – Hush (One Little Indian)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 16 February 2009
Asobi Seksu are back with their third LP, with a promise of stripped-down, bare bones, “we’re not all shoegaze and we’ll prove it” type material. The band’s sound suitably complements their objectives – subtle, crisp as new glass and completely and utterly otherworldly. ‘Hush’, written and produced after the fall-apart of the band’s ‘Citrus’ line-up, is a collection of radiant torchsongs delicately constructed piece by piece, taking us from the spiralling eerie dream pop of ‘Layers’ and ‘Gliss’ to the edgier, harder scuzz of ‘Me & Mary’. Despite the great scope of sounds on offer, ‘Hush’ is impressively consistent and coherent throughout. The Cocteau Twins are written all over the album’s best track ‘Familiar Light’ – Asobi Seksu may be able to run from shoegaze, but they can’t hide from it. The genre is at the very core of their material, but the band has managed to subtly create a cleaner, considerably more modern texture of sound on top. Arriving at the right time, too, ‘Hush’ is the perfect soundtrack for the last frosty days of winter and the arrival of spring, sparkling and snow-like, múm-esque in its approach to natural yet abstract melodies. Another fine effort from Yuki and James, ‘Hush’ is ambient pop for dreamers. TW
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