Asobi Seksu Ready <i>Fluorescence</i>

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Nov 9, 2010

However melodic and pretty NYC shoegazers Asobi Seksu sound, the group never come off as precious. It was a misnomer, then, when the outfit named their last full-length Hush. As with their other records, the collection spiralled out of control via swirling distortion and singer Yuki Chikudate's ethereal vocals. Naming their next album Fluorescence might jive more with their day-glo dream rock, but a press release still has the group insisting they're much more laid-back than we give them credit for.

Though he might not be speaking directly about their sonics, guitarist James Hanna explains that the new album, their fourth full-length, was a carefree affair.

"This time, our agenda was to not have one at all," he said in a statement, "to be mellow about the entire process instead of obsessing over everything."

A download for new Fluorescence track "Trails," available here on the Polyvinyl website, still cranks the amps way past 11, and the guitars still bend though space and time like a long-lost My Bloody Valentine tune, circa 1991, but we'll give Asobi Seksu the benefit of the doubt. This loud rocker does actually go down quite smooth. Here's hoping the rest of the album transports us to some sort of dreamy, shoegaze fantasy world.

Fluorescence will be released February 15 via Polyvinyl.

Fluorescence:

1. "Coming Up"

2. "Trails"

3. "My Baby"

4. "Perfectly Crystal"

5. "In My Head"

6. "Leave the Drummer Out There"

7. "Sighs"

8. "Deep Weird Sleep"

9. "Counterglow"

10. "Ocean"

11. "Trance Out"

12. "Pink Light"

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