Hush nice, but unpolished

Hush is good, but not better than previous works.

By Tom Carbone

Published Feb. 5, 2009

Dream-pop veterans Asobi Seksu's (Japanese for "casual sex") third full-length record Hush is a long anticipated follow-up to 2006's Citrus.

Back in 2006, Citrus was a drastic improvement to their eponymous debut.

They defined their sound with Citrus, and many critics were quick to slap the shoegaze label on them, even though the band was wary about this tag. While Citrus focused on a more poppy side of shoegaze, with singles like "Thursday" and "New Years" appealing to many fans, Hush is infinitely more textured, layered and complex -- but not necessary better. Lead singer and keyboardist Yuki Chikudate still has a very special and distinct voice, something that propelled the band into the spotlight in 2006.

Although her illustrious lyrics are oftentimes indecipherable (a shoegaze staple), the band's instrumentation and her tone of voice aid in our understanding of the song's meanings. As usual, her melodies and the band's excellent guitar and drum work really mesh together to create a record enticing to many different listeners.

The appropriately titled "Layers," the first track on the album, starts off Hush in a superb way. Twinkling bells, layered guitars and a thumping bass drum all work in conjunction to fashion one of the most beautiful Asobi Seksu songs to date.

Earlier in 2008, Asobi Seksu released the first single from the album entitled "Me & Mary." This track's intensity and swirling crescendos are drastically different from the rest of the album. While this song is a lot more upbeat and full of energy, most of the other songs take it down a notch and seem to experiment more with the slower side of things. Yuki's voice, an aural masterpiece, is not lacking in this track, however. Her dreamy vocals make some of these tracks much more bearable than they would have been without her.

"Gliss," the glittering fourth track on Hush, is definitely the standout on the album. The guitars and vocals almost sound a bit delicate and a bit hushed, yet the track is very bass-heavy. Just like on the other tracks, Yuki's vocal delivery and personality is what makes the track palatable. Although her backing band does a good job supporting her incredible voice, I doubt I would listen to them without her up front.

Yuki touches on her Japanese heritage with "Meh No Mae," an elaborate and billowing track towards the end of the album. Just like with Citrus, she begins to incorporate Japanese lyrics into the song that make the feel just a bit more characteristic of her and the band in general.

While Hush definitely seems a lot more complex and clean, it really doesn't stand up to their older work. While I enjoy Yuki's voice more than that of any other female in music today, that alone doesn't save the band. Hush doesn't necessarily feel rushed, but the band could have spent a bit more time refining it and making it sound a more like Citrus. Yes, they did something new, but it doesn't live up to fans' high expectations for Asobi Seksu.