Asobi Seksu

Ah, the shoegaze scene. You know: My Bloody Valentine, The Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, Lush, etc? Remember it? Nope? Me either. It peaked in the early ‘90s. I was about ten years old. Around the time my obsession for Nirvana was just beginning, in fact. Labelled “the scene that celebrates itself” by Melody Maker (RIP) shoegaze eventually imploded due to its self-indulgent nature coupled with the unrelenting force of grunge and the corporate juggernaut that was Britpop. But, fast forward in a warp-speed stylee 15 years and we are witnessing a somewhat unexpected revival of “that dirty word”. Shoegaze’s influence on modern music, now rehashed as ‘nu-gaze’, is stronger than ever. A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Blonde Redhead, Maps – they have all released critically acclaimed albums this year which blend elements of the genre. And now, blazing up the inside like one of those lavish climactic choruses, we have Asobi Seksu.

This New York-based quintet have no issue associating themselves with such a genre. Even their T-Shirts on the merch stand tonight are adorned with the phrase ‘Dream Pop’. This year sees the (strangely delayed) UK release of the band's 2004 self-titled debut album and sophomore Citrus; both exhibit bittersweet pop melodies and sensual, sonically textured synths which combine moments of out-and-out Goo-esque no-wave noise. But it’s the latter that leaves a lasting impression tonight. On sweeping tracks such as ‘I'm So Happy But You Don't Like Me’ (complete with glory pop choruses) Japanese singer Yuki Chikudate displays the same vocal pitch and beauty the late Minnie Riperton once did on ‘Lovin You’. There are moments where Asobi could be providing the soundtrack to one of Michel Gondry's simulated dream-like sequences, but under their snug, warmth-of-the-duvet melodious pop (think Au Revoir Simone meets M83) moments of real arse-ripping noise lurk. Such as those on ‘It’s Too Late’ which wash over the Water Rats and drown every ounce of serenity. Asobi are a less restrained and much noisier group live than on record. This is what makes them so compelling.

To tour an album you made four years ago and still make it sound fresh and exuberant can’t be easy, but the band does so by putting everything in. Drummer Ben Shapiro fires his way around the kit with the force of nail gun, but still the pop sensibilities are never far away. The drum and bass combination is, at times, actually quite reminiscent of recent Killers. But don’t let that dissuade you: this is soaring electric music in every sense of the word – amplified, processed, and imbued with the same neon glow as the fairy lights tangled around Yuki’s microphone stand. Whilst a little predictable by the end, as we bid farewell in a strobe-lit blaze of fuzz with ringing in our ears, Asobi Seksu have already proven they are more than just another My Bloody Valentine rehash.

Photo by Tom Milway