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Review: |
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A few months after releasing their fourth full-length, Asobi Seksu returned with this little EP. We have one song from Fluorescence, one b-side exclusive to this digital EP, and three remixes. Let's just skip to the new material, shall we?
Vicious Bears is your exclusive track here. It starts with Chikudate singing a capella under a lot of echo, before the band kicks in. The drums are frantic, and Chikudate's keys positively tinkle. Hanna's guitar grinds away, reminding me of The Jesus and Mary Chain done moderately. That is, he has a sort of distorted growl here, but it is not overpowering. Overall, this is a great tune, and seems perfectly in keeping with the stuff that Asobi Seksu are doing at the moment.
Next we have three remixes of the song Perfectly Crystal. the first is the "Beach Fossils / Spirit Animal Remix". Apparently both of these are acts from Brooklyn, New York, so apparently local friends of Asobi Seksu. I have never heard of either of them before now, however, they do a very New Yorkish mix. That is, this reminds me a lot of the work of LCD Soundsystem. There is a throbbing beat under the synths and tinkling piano, and a general 1991 UK electro sort of feel to the song. It is fun, if you like that sort of thing.
The second remix is "Mirrors' Un Autre Monde Remix", another artist i am not that familiar with. However, this mix is my favorite of the three. It has funky little beats, whooshing space synth sounds, lots of hand claps, Hanna's guitar a chiming spot of reverb, and Yuki's voice floating above it all. This is sparse electro, great for head-bopping. The overall effect reminds me of the retro-70s work of the band Flowchart. Good stuff.
And finally we have the "Xiu Xiu remix". I think that most people at this point, are familiar with Xiu Xiu, so it should come as no surprise that this remix is noisy and spooky, Yuki's vocals floating in the distance behind echoed drones and buzzing blips. Xiu Xiu have taken this generally happy song and turned it into something dark and foreboding, which is pretty much what Xiu Xiu are about. I find this interesting, but like the rest of their catalog, it is not something i want to listen to very often.
Overall, this is a good little EP. However, if you are not a fan of Asobi Seksu, or a fan of remixes, then this probably won't appeal to you. |
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