After their 2004 self-titled debut, Asobi Seksu (a Japanese colloquial term meaning “casual sex”) emerged from the New York indie-rock scene with 2006’s Citrus, a record dripping in both fuzz and energy. For their third full-length, some things stayed the same: recorded again at Gigantic Studios with Chris Zane (White Rabbits, Walkmen, Harlem Shakes), but the foursome moved from Gigantic’s own imprint to major label Polyvinyl. More significantly, their sound has shifted on Hush, from neo-shoegazer indie-fuzz into outright atmospheric beauty.
Asobi Seksu introduce their new approach with opener “Layers”, but that too-high choral piece is a poor starter – the band managed to begin Hush with its worst track. But from there, the album’s quality brightens to match its sound. Sometimes the high melody is nice but not overwhelming, like with “Familiar Light”, “Gliss”, and “I Can’t See”, but other times the sweetness really grabs you, as the rhythm & tones make for something much more on “Sing Tomorrow’s Praise” and single “Me & Mary”.
Hush is definitely a venture away from Citrus: only the indie explosion “Glacially” retains that energy over beauty from earlier work. Instead, there are serious dream-pop excursions in the record’s middle, though the high keys vision of “In the Sky” grows from soft jungle drumming into something more indie. “Transparence” keeps some catch, but “Meh No Mae” is an interesting rise & fall from a sweet but troubled slumber.
Hush ends with the sad, on the water missive “Blind Little Rain”, and the record’s brightness is less about sunshine than just about being up so high in the stratosphere that everything is alight, whether fluffy clouds or a snow-blinding blizzard. The trade of energy for beauty by Asobi Seksu might leave some gasping in the thin air up there, but the vistas are breathtaking.
