Send "Asobi Seksu " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Slantmagazine |
 Despite an irreverent name that roughly translates to "casual sex" in Japanese, Asobi Seksu is hardly some flip indie-pop outfit. Fortunate enough to be led by the near-mystical, weightless voice of Yuki Chikudate, the New York-based quartet's music is an unapologetic throwback to the star-gazing art rock of the '90s: ghostly, resonant, and beautifully aloof, with equal tips of the hat to Smashing Pumpkins, Sunny Day Real Estate, and the Cranberries. To that end, Chikudate is undoubtedly the Asian Dolores O' Riordan, ruling over the cavernous beauty of her accompaniments with a dominant but effeminate presence. Thus, on an effort such as the acoustic album Rewolf, which is gentler even than the band's Hush from earlier this year, Chikudate can reign uninterrupted, taking center stage to the sounds of humbled guitars, trickling bells, and the charm of her own lyrical whimsy. Part of said charm is Chikudate's willingness to murmur, whisper, and coo amid the gauzy echoes, almost daring listeners to test the waters, wade through the thickness, and then plunge in after her as she braves the clouded depths. In the wooded journey of "New Years," lyrics wander back and forth between English and Japanese, offering a solitary duet as prickly chimes sparkle in timely refrain. "Suzanne" is all baroque splendor—pangs of soft percussion and warm flutes carrying Chikudate's battered, barely-enunciated vocal line into a velvety resolution—and no more than a floating whisper for its three-minute timeframe. As the ethereal "Gliss" and "Breathe Into Glass" drift along in arcane splendor, it becomes clear that Rewolf is aided by its ability to be organic and comforting and yet also estranged and esoteric, beautifully misplaced in time much as Fleet Foxes's self-titled debut or Björk's Vespertine before it....full text |
| Pitchfork |
| Remix albums might be the new live albums, but over the past few years, "sessions" have also come to prominence as a way for artists to reimagine or repurpose their music in a variety of different scenarios. Things like Daytrotter, La Blogotheque, Black Cab Sessions, "Don't Look Down" and other Pitchfork.tv shows, and AOL Sessions, have become the "MTV Unplugged" for the era of inexpensive digital technology, constantly shifting economic imperatives, and small-but-fervent online publics. Though not sponsored by an outside entity, Asobi Seksu's Rewolf, sold at merch tables earlier this year as Acoustic at Olympic Studios, fits perfectly in this niche, offering nine stripped-down reimaginings of the duo's music-- most from 2009's Hush-- with a cover of Hope Sandoval's smoky 2002 single "Suzanne". One of the last works recorded at the London studio most known for legendary sessions with the Beatles and Stones, Rewolf-- cut on an off-day during a tour-- contains a few nice surprises. Where Hush felt too safe and familiar, walking carefully in the footprints of the still very good Citrus, a few recut tracks here emphasize some of the group's best qualities. "Blind Little Rain", for instance, was too delicate to be as pumped up with echo as it was, but the Rewolf version-- for just piano and voice-- sounds lovely and pristine in comparison, placing all due emphasis on the fragile melody. Though I liked the wobbly sci-fi undertones of the Hush version of "Gliss", and the brawny guitars of Citrus highlight "New Years", the stripped-down models of each-- reduced to xylophone and acoustic guitar, prove that strong compositions can withstand a bit of transformation. On the other hand, "Urusai Tori", from this year's Transparence EP (now called "Bossa"), shifts the focus fully to the duo's aptitude at interpretation. What started as a punchy number with well-placed glitchy electronic undertones gets thoroughly, and imaginatively, remodeled as something of a Stan Getz pastiche. Not everything works so well, though. "Thursday" is more or less the duo's signature-- and best-- song, in large part because it's the group's best use of the studio-as-instrument. Blowing away the overdubbed fog and leaving nothing but a skeletal piano/acoustic guitar/voice structure is an act of bravery, but my over-familiarity with the original is the only thing holding my attention. It's certainly not the breathily spoken French overlaying the song's second refrain. Along the same line, the inclusion of 2004's "Walk on the Moon" does little here save remind us that it's more or less "Thursday"'s first draft (Hush's "In the Sky" was version 3.0). And though there are atmospheric similarities between Chikudate's and Hope Sandoval's approaches to singing, the "Suzanne" cover doesn't do much other than reaffirm the fact that the former Mazzy Star frontwoman has a lock on hazy, smoky ambience. Chikudate's porcelain-doll approach works for a lot of things, but does nothing to improve the original....full text |
| Popmatters |
| Rewolf is a detour for those accustomed to the shimmering neo-shoegaze of Asobi Seksu’s previous releases. This new release is the result of a brief recording stop at London’s Olympic Studios, undertaken while the band was touring the United Kingdom in 2008. For the Olympic session, Asobi Seksu stripped down its lineup to the pair of vocalist Yuki Chikudate and guitarist James Hanna, who deliver acoustic-driven reworkings of songs from throughout the band’s career, plus a cover of Hope Sandoval’s “Suzanne”. Removed from layers of guitar effect, Asobi Seksu is able to highlight its songcraft on Rewolf, creating an album that sparkles with melody. In lieu of the New York City band’s standard veils of electric guitar noise, on Rewolf Chikudate and Hanna restructure their selected tracks so they are driven by acoustic guitar, piano, and Chikudate’s gentle, angelic vocals. The band’s lineup is paired down, but the songs aren’t. Asobi Seksu compensates for the absence of the full band and its attendant guitar pedals via wonderfully crafted arrangements and Chikudate’s judicious use of harmony overdubs. Upon my first listen to the new version of “Breathe into Glass” that opens the album, I was immediately struck by how touchingly beautiful every element sounded working together, particularly Chikudate’s singing. Do note that Rewolf is not a radical reinvention of the band’s music. The compositions themselves are largely unchanged. Merely one form of instrumentation has been exchanged for another. Those fine melodies were always there. The main difference is that on Rewolf melody is paramount, and not as reliant on texture as it generally is in Asobi Seksu’s music. The band’s recordings are typically a wash of sound filled with melodies and harmonies, affording little space for the compositions to breathe. That sound is why fans love the band in the first place, but these acoustic recordings do allow Asobi Seksu to emphasize elements that normally have to share sonic real estate. Compare the original version of “Walk on the Moon” from the album to its new incarnation on Rewolf. On the original version, Chikudate’s vocals float amongst the band’s warbling guitar effects, only bobbing upward in the mix in tandem with the rest of the music. In the new arrangement, acoustic guitar rhythms form the song’s foundation, allowing Chikudate to sit atop as the focus of the piece, added by tasteful chiming melody lines. This reshuffling of sonic priorities (aided by mixer Billy Pavone) works wonders for the song, as it does for the entire album....full text |
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