Asobi Seksu “Hush” The title says a lot: mellow, dreamy indie music textured by feathery female vocals, heavily reverbed & spangly guitars, airy synth and hushed, rumbling drums. Sounds are reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins, M83 & My Bloody Valentine – atmospheric and lush but lead singer of Asobi has sugary vox that make the music unique. Take this CD for a long car ride down the coast – the majority of its melodramatic music will fit the mood but it’s the more chipper moments that you’ll remember. “Asobi seksu” is Japanese for “playful sex” & the band is a duo founded in NYC in 2004. HEADS UP nearly all songs end with 5-10sec left. Start with their upbeat single, 11 & the more ethereal 2, 9. NO FCCs
Basil baileyr@stanford.edu

1) reindeer bells blend into the spangly guitars w/o leaving a xmas feeling behind; slow, chilled out
2) **Drums emerge & drive the emotion hidden behind her polite, soft vocals; last 15s are reverb
3) * uptempo; guitar arpeggios, drum hits hard, voice is vulnerable – builds to a crescendo
4) spooky kooky noises, hushed vox, shimmering sounds mix with good old rumbling drums
5) *The Cure-esque guitar progressions; uptempo w/ assertive vocals & builds to epic crooning
6) :45 second interlude of layered electro sounds
7) *listen in - this is Asobi’s forte; kooky vocals w/ pronounced drums & synth – 80s flavor
8) starts up at 15sec w/ pronounced drums that move to nice thick ethereal meandering
9) * vox shine in a lush, ethereal song; raging, experimental guitar build midway through
10) standard drums, male vox appear, slow and steady in the verses, sweet vox in chorus
11) ** from the outset, this song is different from the rest; Sugary vox, uptempo wild boppin
12) vocal harmonies are soothing; slower song with thick layers of melodic noise SONG ENDS AT 2:25 - > about 1:20 of white noise -> 1min of instrumental outro