Asobi Seksu

  It's not a deliberate thing going to the Empty Bottle like every other week.  Last year I probably went like once.  A lot of bands I like happen to gravitate to there, now.  The venue is small, well Ronnie's on California (I think) is far smaller.  The 'Bottle  just knows what resonates.  On this Wednesday night in October Asobi Seksu played.  Post Honeymoon opened and damn I just went blank as to who the middle band was.   I liked all of them but my resources were limited to one thing.  The name Asobi Seksu I believe means "playful sex" in Japanese.  This is a  loud shoegaze  muscle car  driving down 26th street in Little Village.   

 Yuki the singer  drives it with urgency, like she's late for work.  One can dance to them like the Cocteau Twins.  Yet their blood pulses faster than that iconic band.  I say it like that because the songs are kind of fast for shoegazer.  Yuki's voice sometimes delicate and soft, seems to be on the edge of being consumed by the bass,  and fuzzy guitar, but no, these are dogs that she trained like Cesar Milan. Yuki can be soft and whispery in one moment and in the next she soars above the guitar and bass.  Every song has something to hook you with.  Sometimes it's the bass....for me it's often the bass, sometimes it's her voice.  Listen to "Thursday" on the Citrus CD.  Yuki's voice is at a calm pace in stark contrast to the faster chaos of bass and guitar, yet is never consumed.   The pace of most of the songs is relatively fast.  Yuki just calmly rides the storm.  With some shoegaze, one can get lost in the clouds.  The uninitiated just lose interest, they get lost in the fog.  AS never get that way.  Each song forms it's individual relationship with the listener.  "Strings" has this extra kick in the middle.  This segment just changes the pace and gives you another reason to like the song.  It almost feels like it's a different song but it totally fits.   As we compare Asobi Seksu to bands like Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, and so forth, it is my belief that we will be comparing future acts to this band here.  In the future I believe they will be called icons.  I just hit a wall.  Perhaps I will write more on them when my wit is easier to find.

Kaspar Zig