Asobi Seksu – Hush (2009) [Polyvinyl] // Grade: A-

Here we go everyone, 2009′s first great album. My apologies to Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, but you were merely just “good”, at least for my tastes. Anyways…

Hush took a few listens to really grow on me. At first I was a bit underwhelmed by the whole of it, especially when thinking back to the way 2006′s magnificent Citrus grabbed you instantly. Unlike Citrus, this album does not swallow you whole in a wave of aggressive guitar noise, but rather just builds on delicate, carefully crafted compositions, song after song. And when you least expect it, the album opens up and lets you in.  Asobi Skesu forgo most of the reverb and the loud/quiet (MBV) dynamic of their last album and create a much more intimate & challenging experience that really plays up vocals over guitar melody.  Hush is an airy and sprawling experience that leaves the traditional noisy Shoegaze territory and ventures more into the ethereal plains of the Cocteau Twins and the Indie Pop of Yo La Tengo. It’s also quite uncanny (and welcoming) just how much Yuki Chikudate sounds like Elisabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins at times.

I unfortunately get the feeling that this album won’t be as embraced as Citrus. In the past, Asobi Seksu mainly built on what My Bloody Valentine had done before them, making Citrus very easy to like and relatively fresh 3 years ago. But in a music scene getting overrun by Shoegaze & Dream-Pop revivalists, simply aping MBV  is something that should be reserved for lesser bands and not one with Asobi Seksu’s pedigree. I’m just not sure that many of the fans that were gained with Citrus, who have nominal familiarity with Shoegaze, would agree. Hush may be more of a grower, but it is a much more rewarding listen and a truly beautiful album.

The album’s only flaw is its choice of singles. “Me & Mary”, while a good song, is not the album’s strongest moment, nor a good representitive of what to expect on Hush as a whole. I really wish the band or the label chose “Sunshower” or, better yet, “Glacially” as the face for this album. “Glacially” is not only one of the band’s strongest songs, but may easily be one of this year’s most memorable songs, for those who get to hear it.

- My Pal the Crook