About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

Asobi Seksu's fourth album, Rewolf is another step away from the bright and bubbly dream/shoegaze pop they started off playing on their first two albums. Combining the feather-light vocals of Yuki Chikudate, the alternately shimmering and grinding guitars of James Hanna, and a fine ability to craft songs with both sonic and melodic hooks, the band seemed set to redefine both dream pop and shoegaze for a new generation of the genres' fans. Instead, Asobi Seksu reinvented themselves on Hush, stripping away most of the guitars and replacing them with icy synths and lush arrangements. The songs, too, were cold and restrained; most of the color the band had splashed on its songs was drained away and replaced with gloomy shades of gray. The reimagining of the Asobi Seksu sound was a dramatic effort and, for the most part, it worked well. Rewolf takes the stripping-down process even further, all the way down to acoustic guitars, glockenspiels, and toy pianos. Recorded at the famed Olympic Studios in London mere months before it was shuttered, the album is an acoustic stroll through the band's back catalog, along with a cover of Hope Sandoval's "Suzanne." Tim Sendra, All Music Guide

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