Asobi Seksu

If you’re not really getting any from your music right now, why not let Asobi Seksu (Japanese for ‘playful sex’) buy you a few cheap doubles and take you home for coffee? Tingly and tripped out, their grungy shoegaze is just the experience you’ve been craving. From the sugary, Lush-like dreampop of ‘Umi De No Jisatsu’ to the fuzzy, soft-focus My Bloody Valentine layers of ‘Let Them Wait’, the New Yorkers’ debut forges a ravishing, distinctive sound. Singer Yuki’s breathy sweet nothings in Japanese lie atop guitars and keys that pulse, ebb and build to climaxes that would wear Mogwai out. “It’s never felt like this”, she croons on ‘Walk On The Moon’. Not for us either. Can we take a phone number?

Emily Mackay

8 out of 10