Asobi
Seksu
Self-Titled CD
Self-Released
Genres: indie pop, shoegazer, j-pop
Asobi Seksu
PO Box 3277
Long Island City, NY 11103
Apr 7 - 13 2003 |
Lots
of people may label this J-Pop because Asobi Seksu's lead
singer is Japanese and many of the songs have Japanese lyrics.
How disturbingly xenophobic. Despite the occasional non-english
word, Asobi Seksu's debut album should have no problem finding
a place in the hearts of any number of anglophones. The familiar
rock and pop melodies can't be resisted, and the band's delicious
guitar sound is one that many wannabe indie rock heroes can only hope
to achieve. "Walk on the Moon" is a fine example of Asobi Seksu's
sound. Delicate and beautiful, the female vocals glide over a
pillow of chiming guitars, which turn into overdriven shoegazer-esque
walls of sound for the chorus. "It's Too Late,"
meanwhile, is the album's epic. Starting off merely with a
smooth, quiet pop atmosphere, the track gradually builds up to a
powerful climax, only to slowly drop out again into a valley of calm
guitar. Dozens of shoegazer bands could be namechecked, but
what's the point? We slowly emerge from this subdued valley of
guitar,
gaining energy and power until the final minute, where everything goes
haywire and gradually dissolves into mere remnants of supersonic
noise.
Of course, those are just two of the eleven excellent songs on this
album. I won't give away the rest of these beautiful songs, though; you can discover them
for yourself.
85%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
11 songs, distributed by CD
Street, released 2002] |