asobi seksu

i totally dig this band. dreamy.

based on the singles alone though i suspect the debut is better than the second album. i need to get me the two long players

i'd say the second album is way better actually, though i guess you wouldn't know it from just the singles

the ending of "exotic animal paradise" gets me every time even if the first 2/3 of the song isn't very exciting

Asobi Seksu once spent the night at my house & were very polite guests. Some of the better latter-day dreampop around, I might add..

'walk on the moon' is emotacular in that delightful way that the brother kite do it

I heard Citrus once a couple years ago and it didn't really grab me. I think Curtis is right, it's a nice album. I'm not convinced it's much more, but I'll give it another shot someday, perhaps.

Curtis = Charlie (sorry)

I once heard a song of theirs on the radio and thought it was great, great, great, but never got around to buying one of their records. Which one should I have?

the one little indian store has a special where you get both for 10 quid (which is what i'm about to do)

that 10 quid special is a pretty good way to go

i only have 'citrus', but i'm very curious about the first one and plan on hearing it soon. you can't really go wrong with 'citrus' if you're a dream pop afficionado. it's warm and lush with a surprising amount of variety. possibly not too much more than 'nice', but there's always a place for that in my listening rotation.

finally picked up the two albums, citrus is by far the stronger of the two. 'thursday' and 'goodbye' are such great tracks. the debut has some pretty weak tracks though it's not bad overall. i didn't realise even citrus was nearly two years old. looking forward to the polyvinyl debut..

new album out which i haven't heard. but keen to hear. anyone listened to it yet?

d/ling it from eM now..

though i did feel 'me & mary' was their weakest single thus far

yet it's the best thing on the new album, sadly. I don't think it's possible for them to make a terrible record, but this one was a bit too bland to leave any impression on me.

the OTT cocteauisms in the vocal don't work in this record's favour.

it has the feel of a record that has been over-thought into the ground. not bad, but yeah pretty bland

that's not sounding too promising.
probably wasn't the greatest idea for this band to adopt a really studied approach, as the best moments on the previous records generally have quite a liberated feel to them.

Still going to see them live tomorrow. I didn't really get them until I saw them live, and then it was all OMG OMG OMG. I'll pick up the new album when, erm, I get some money. Bah.

The new album is a little underwhelming but still enjoyable. Live show still fantastic though, I saw them the otgher night and they raised the roof.

the whole thing wasnt great but 'me and mary' is kinda killer!

this is growing on me.. better heard as individual songs rather than as a whole imo

me and mary is the worst song on the new album! it's all about familiar light and sunshower. the second side is admittedly kind of weak, but i think the cleaner production makes them sound much better... the fuzziness of the first couple albums annoyed me after a while.

Citrus is their best so far. new one is subtle, quite nice, Hazel otm. (I like Layers as well, Field Micy)

I bought this album last week, but haven't listened to it more than once. It didn't immediately grab me, but I will persist. (Bought too many other CDs at the same time again.)

i'd really like to see them work with a producer that brings out their rough edges.. songs as pretty as theirs don't need to sound so smooth.

Yeah! THat's one thing that amazes me when I see them live - how NOISY and rough they are, which is beautiful and amazing and perfect. And then the album is so shiny and perfect and smooth.

I definitely want to check out their show when they come through here in a few weeks, but man I don't like this album nearly as much as the last one.

Only got Citrus, which is quite nice, except that a few weeks ago when a track from it came on the Zeppelin, it struck me that they sounded EXACTLY like a cross between Shed Seven and Cocteau Twins. NOT good.

you may need to expand on that, since i have utterly no idea what you mean

Structurally, rhythmically, and melodically, they sounded like Shed Seven, but with some feminine shimmer over the top aesthetically, instead of Rick Witter shouting and that guy playing crap riffs.

okay. do you have particular song-to-song comparisons? 'cause i'm not hearing it. though i only know the first shed 7 lp

They sound NOTHING LIKE Shed Seven. I think your painkillers are getting to you, Sick.

Can't remember what song it was; should've written it down!

Really great live, slick.

You know, the album grew on me with repeated listens. By the third time, I'm in love with it. I'm really glad about that. It is a bit more Cocteau-y than the previous one, but I don't think that's a bad thing.

A lot cleaner and detailed than I expect from this kind of thing.

quieter

Yeah, the quieter was what threw me at first. But it's just as detailed and textural as the others. Which is what I really love about them anyway.

Revive to say that "Miniature Cities" is one of the best songs I've heard in a while... a b-side from the Transparence 10". Need to get that Rewolf acoustic CD thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDlvBk1-2K0

No interest in this terrible band, but I noticed an NY Times article about where their (former?) drummer lives:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/realestate/18habi.html?hpw

I'm morbidly fascinated by the fact that every writer of every article about them feels compelled to casually explain the meaning of the band name. Kind of wish they'd stuck with "Sportfuck." In fact, would probably pay more attention to them if they had.

maybe if they called it the "fuck york times" i'd read that article. alas.

i know a lot of people have jumped off board, but i'm looking forward to hearing the new album. i didn't dislike the last one as much as others seemed to. i thought the songs were there, but that it was let down by a foggy production and strangely half-there vocals.

I saw them live and they did a nice cover of never understand. just competent I guess?

i saw them at an outside venue in brooklyn. it was a pretty bad show, but i think that had something to do with the fact that it was outside and that they weren't selling beer.

the new album is ok. i like it more on first listen than hush, but i think it will be less of a grower

the cover makes me angry though. as a v23 ripoff it would be tolerably lame, as an ACTUAL v23 sleeve it is fucking terrible

In a few years these guys are going to have an awesome best of compilation. Great live band, its a shame they've yet to make a record that lives up to their performances.

imo they're a band who started with their best album and each successive album has been less good than the one before it.

don't totally agree with that - the debut has some real stinkers on it. i think citrus is their peak.

loool I came here to post "I saw them live and they were dully competent" and I see I already made a similar comment upthread. anyway the best part of that show was when they covered never understand

Saw them live in a tiny venue a few years ago, an experience I found far more enjoyable than any time I've listened to an album of theirs.

yup, citrus is their peak. they've been going down hill ever since. i still can't fully accept her voice either

Citrus has been in my car for the last 3 or 4 years as emergency dream-pop for terrible days (it helps that the bright pink CD is easily found even in the dark) but earlier this week I gave it to my girlfriend because I couldn't believe she had never heard it before; like any sane person, her response was "ohmigosh I love this!"

... is anything after Citrus worth hearing, tho?

I thought Hush was at least as good as Citrus (I actually listen to it more), and the track "Miniature Cities" from the Translucence 10" is pretty amazing.

I wasn't that into Hush, it was a bit too subdued for me, but Fluorescence (sp?) was magical and definitely worth hearing.