Asobi Seksu – Hush

Presenter

Jade Nobbs

Published

Friday 21st August

Polyvinyl

The third album from New York nu-gaze outfit Asobi Seksu (“casual sex” or “fun sex” in Japanese vernacular) is another index of the current renaissance of the classic “shoegaze” sound within contemporary indie rock/pop.

Since it’s often bandied around but not often clearly defined, it might be useful as a prelude to venture a definition of “shoegaze.” Put succinctly, the “shoegaze” sound can be described as alt-rock which emphasises texture over melody—or rather texture as melody—and layered, processed arrangements over linear narrative pop structures. Which is not to say it doesn’t have pop sensibility (it does), but this is subordinated to a focus upon texture and depth of sound layering. Emerging around the mid-late ‘80s with groups such as Jesus and Mary Chain, Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine, it incorporates elements of psychedelic, post-punk and noise experimentation techniques, wrapping pop melodies in chaotic rushes of ecstatic sound, processing guitars to the point of their becoming sheer tonal/textural generators, and employing breathy, indecipherable vocals whose function is mainly to act as another textural layer in the composition, rather than as a dominant lyrical presence.

On their latest offering, “Hush”, Asobi Seksu have opted to produce a less guitar-driven and more clean sounding, synthesiser-based pop record which, despite its many nu-gazing virtues, perhaps suffers from being, well, a little too pleasant on the ears.

To begin with, “Hush” tends more towards the Cocteau Twins’ dreamy-pop side of the shoegaze spectrum, rather than the washed-out sonic mayhem of My Bloody Valentine. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing—the Cocteau Twins have some very fine records: but also some rather sappy, forgettable ones as well. By using them as a sonic template on this album, AS have largely abandoned the My Bloody Valentinesque guitar that predominated on their previous album, “Citrus”, and strayed into territory here that, while exceedingly nice and pleasant, isn’t all that interesting. “Hush” is an album that amply demonstrates the unfortunate tendency of shoegaze pop to blend into sugary sweetness and florid banality.

Opening and second tracks “Layers” and “Familiar Light” are cases in point: pretty, lush and tuneful, but almost to the point of being insipid. “Sing Tomorrow’s Praise” and “Gliss” are more downbeat and subtle in their instrumental and vocal arrangements, but still quite trite in their melodic and rhythmic shifts. If the point of shoegaze is to enwrap the listener in layers of ecstatic sound, the clean, polished approach taken here does little to draw the listener in. It’s pretty, but slides over the surface.

That said, there are some cool tunes on the album. “Me & Mary” is a terrific slice of MBV/Lush-inspired shoegaze pop, demonstrating all the characteristic techniques that make the genre so appealing and endearing, even if you didn’t catch it the first time round in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. “Transparence” has a toppy, Cure-esque bassline in the verse, washed-out guitars more prominent in the mix, and a lovely naïve melody to boot. “Glacially” is an entrancing piece of jangly guitar and synth-driven pop, and the sharp guitar bends that punctuate the chorus really do make the listener take notice, which validates the point that when AS strip it back, keep the vocal harmonies to a subtle minimum, and bring the crunchy guitars to the fore, they sound as good as any other act taking a leaf out of the shoegaze book.

So yes, a bit of a mixed bag on the whole. I take no joy in being critically negative; indeed, being something of a shoegaze enthusiast, I actually really wanted to like this album. And there are some cracking tracks on it, but only a handful, and the rest of the album just leaves one kind of cold and underwhelmed.

Which underlines the point that Asobi Seksu should really only be enjoyed selectively, and—ahem—in moderation.