On the warmest night so far this year, Asobi Seksu played a sold out show at Mercury Lounge. This night’s lineup consisted of all bands representing New York, mainly Brooklyn (what up!).
The opener, Elika, is an electro pop duo from Brooklyn, with a guy on knobs/laptop, and a girl on vocals. It was hard to tell if she played some synth, but if she did it was very minimal, as her hands seemed to be gripping the microphone the majority of the time. I always find it a bit hard to get into 2 people behind consoles. Their Myspace lists drums, guitar, and bass as instruments they also play, which I would have liked to see. The guy was the most interesting to watch, as he seemed really into turning those knobs and punching those beats, but the girl fell flat for me. She has a beautiful voice, and would sound really great with just a little more variation. The beats all sounded different, but the way she sang made every song sound almost the same, with uninspiring lyrics bordering on cliché. Their new album currently out is called Snuggle Bunnies, which you can form your own opinion about if you’d like to purchase it from Automatic Entertainment.
Family Band is based on the couple of Kim Krans and Jonny Ollsin, on vocals and guitar, respectively. Ollsin has previously played in thrash metal bands, and those influences still come through, but Family Band doesn’t play thrash metal. They describe their sound as “heavy mellow,” and as much as that may seem like a bit of a paradox, that’s exactly what they are. They have a sort of jam band quality, with some bluesy tinges and that hard rock edge. Ollsin is great to watch, as his guitar shredding is what makes the band the most interesting, along with the slide guitar player, and the drummer that used to play with Yeasayer. Krans has a great bluesy and moody voice, but she sounds the best when she really lets go and screams the words out.
The general vibe going at Mercury Lounge at this point was pretty mellow. People were right up to the stage, but it wasn’t like they were trying that hard. Well, there were a couple people clutching their Asobi Seksu vinyl records they had just purchased from the merch table, but other than that it was extremely chill. A couple girls whooped when James Hanna stepped on stage, but not a word when Yuki Chikudate walked out to sound check. Retribution for that was achieved later into the set when Yuki commented that it was hot, and someone yelled, “You’re Hot!” Let’s be honest, she is. She modestly responded, “Who’s hot? Billy’s hot?” as she smiled at the bassist.
Drummer Larry Gorman started them off with the opener on their new album, Flourescence. That flowed into the very My Bloody Valentine sounding first single, “Trails.” By now we were starting to get a better idea of exactly how much of a vocal workout Yuki puts into the songs. She is perfectly on point, just like on their records, hitting those crazy opera high notes, and jumping from note to note like voice leapfrog. I never noticed this as much just listening to the albums, but actually watching her really showed how much effort she puts into singing.
The majority of their set was, of course, songs from the new album. “We DO have a new album out, after all,” Yuki reminded us. Of course, they also played old favorites like “New Years” and “Thursday.” Normally when I listen to these songs, they make me feel mellow; I wouldn’t say that I really jam out, per se. Live, however, there is some definite jam out action. These guys don’t pull the old shoegaze moves. The serious jamming out is showcased more on their new album, such as the song “Trance Out,” where you can clearly hear James going wild. Their live set is a lot more like that, but with the visual of him wailing on his heavily effected guitar so hard strings break, strobe lights flashing, and Yuki throwing her hair on her synthesizer.
Every member of Asobi Seksu really is impressive. Recorded, their songs sound so layered sometimes that it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on, so seeing them recreate it all live is kind of mind blowing. It was one of those times where my eyes didn’t know where to look because everything is happening at the same time – the drummer almost hidden behind his extensively rigged kit with some really off the wall beats, Billy the bassist looking totally immersed in his distorted riffs, James strumming and shaking his head so fast it’s all a blur, and Yuki belting out those notes then throwing her head back and forward again while picking up tambourines and sleigh bells and still keeping at least one hand on her synth. Asobi Seksu’s dense layers come out a little clearer – clearly impressive.
Asobi Seksu’s tour doesn’t stop here, they have a date in MA next week before heading up to Canada for a weekend, then making their way across the northern U.S. before turning south. Flourescence is their 4th studio album and 5th full length, and is available through Polyvinyl.
