Guardian live review / Dec 2007 - Full article The Guardian

Nightshift live review / Dec 2007 - Full article Nightshift

Kingdom review / Dec 2007 - Full article Kingdom

Guitarist feature / Nov 2007 - Full article Guitarist Magazine

NME Top 10 Chart / Nov 2007 - Full article NME

Metro UK show preview / Nov 2007 - Full article Metro

Oxford Journal preview / Nov 2007 - Full article Oxford Journal

Scotland on Sunday / Oct 2007 - Full article Scotland on Sunday

Leeds Student review / Oct 2007 - Full article Leeds Student

NME Feature / Sep 2007 - Full article NME

Metro UK review / Aug 2007 - Full article Metro

NME review / Aug 2007 - Full article NME

Pitchfork / 8.3 - (Recommended)
Joe Tangari - Full Review

Contrary to what you may see written about them, Asobi Seksu aren't gazing at their shoes on their second album-- they're looking skyward the whole time. Yes, the guitar overload, massive reverb, and deceptively sweet vocals are all there, but this New York quartet is anything but a My Bloody Valentine retread.

Bust Magazine / June-July 2006 - Full article Bust Magazine

Venus Magazine / June 2006 - Full article Venus Magazine

ZinkMagazine / June 2006 - Full article Zink Magazine

Giant Robot Magazine / June 2006 - Full article Giant Robot Magazine

Prefix Magazine / June 2006 Full article Prefix Magazine

Prefixmag / June 26, 2006
Kevin Dolak - Full Review

Whereas the debut focused in more on singer Yuki's English and Japanese vocals, her keyboard swoons, and occasionally James Hannah's crushing guitars, Citrus's larger statement is about the grandness of guitar and exactly what Hannah is capable of, given the right budget and production. This is by all accounts his record, with Yuki's swirling keyboards and swooning vocals coming in as a precise contrast and complement. Given the members' proclivity toward shoegaze's wall of guitars, the record could have been a rehash of Loveless-era tone and structure. Instead, Hannah occasionally steps out of shoegaze, and has many effects up his sleeve - most of which are admirably executed.


CMJ / Debut week: #1 add, #4 on chart

A delicate poise is needed to balance turbulent shoegazer fuzz with sparkling pop confection, and the sophomore album from Brooklyn’s Asobi Seksu reconciles the extremes of that dualistic conundrum with fewer stark stylistic contrasts than their first outing, feeling much more lush and organic this time. Yuki’s gossamer coo glides effortlessly between English and Japanese and could melt the coldest stone heart. Just as confidently James Hanna’s dynamic guitar work sweeps from cascading noise to dreamy, inviting warmth and never diverges from a keen pop perspective. (MF)


Spin / Band of The Day - June 1, 2006

The band does right by its name, pairing Yuki's sweet and girly vocals with lusty guitars that vie for attention over heady atmospherics that recall My Bloody Valentine (a touchstone they willingly acknowledge). The standout track, "New Years" captures that vibe, with Yuki's voice balanced delicately with gritty guitar riffs, before being upturned by interludes of noise rock.


MTV / June 1, 2006

Asobi Seksu's Citrus: Their name means "playful sex" in Japanese and they've topped mtvU's Dean's List, and if you're in the mood to dream, Asobi Seksu have your number. The group's bilingual, keyboard-laced sophomore disc includes "Pink Cloud Tracing Paper" and "Nefi+Girly" and will fit in comfortably next to your Lush and My Bloody Valentine CDs.


Gothamist / May 31, 2006

Another veteran of the Movable Hype Series, Asobi Seksu has been blowing away New York audiences with their sonic blast of sound for a few years now. The music on record has always been great, but live, these four unleash an experience unparalleled in the local scene. Overwhelming the crowd in sound, it envelops them in a noisy Shoegaze haze. This week, the band has released their latest album, Citrus, and is celebrating by playing a show at Joe's Pub tomorrow night. Seeing a band like this in a space like Joe's should be an absolute treat.


Coke Machine Glow / May 29th, 2006
By Amir Nezar - Full Review

“It’s shoegaze.” But it’s difficult to emphasize precisely how modern and revived this shoegaze is. In terms of its brilliant production, cohesive personality, and compositional ambition, Citrus is a singular vision, the dedication to which is only emphasized by everything from the album’s careful sequencing to its passion to its outrageously good packaging.


All Music Guide
Tim Sendra - Full Review

Asobi Seksu make judicious use of loud-soft dynamics, aren't afraid to disappear into great walls of guitar noise and most importantly, they write very good, adventurous, and memorable pop songs. On song after song they throw hook after hook at the listener, vocal melodies, guitar lines, basslines, atmospheres -- everything here is a hook that draws you into the band's cocoon of sound.


Tiny Mix Tapes
Grisby - Full Review

Citrus is screaming out to be loved, but with enough style and sophistication to avoid being a guilty pleasure. If this isn't the album you are blaring out of your car all summer long, you aren't having enough fun.


Delusions of Adequacy / May 22, 2006
JasonWilder - Full Review

Asobi Seksu (which, according to the band bio, is Japanese for “playful sex”) can be labelled as one of the best, if not the best, shoegaze/dreampop band alive today in theory and practice.


Under the Radar Magazine / Spring 2006

...finds gossamer dreaminess in layers of guitar noise and static... and a giant scope of influences that run from the usual Ride/Slowdive/My Bloody Valentine touchstones to The Velvet Underground and Brian Reitzell. [p.83]

-August Brown

Filter / May 18, 2006
Asobi Seksu - Thursday

Sultry and delicious in a haze of melodic buzz-saw guitars, this NYC foursome share a certain indie-rock joie-de-vivre (how might one say that in Japanese?) that may very well inspire images of Cibo Matto jamming with Lush.


Entertainment Weekly
Asobi Seksu - Lions and Tigers

Of all the bands with a bunch of guitars and even more echo pedals trying to ape the immaculate lusciousness of early-90s shoegaze gods My Bloody Valentine, this foursome led by the girlish vocals of Japanese lead singer Yuki — is among the best. Proof positive is found on their excellent second album, Citrus, due at the end of this month. Marked by piles of euphoric six-string blasts, this highlight is the ultimate daydream soundtrack.

–Ryan Dombal


Music for Robots / May 15, 2006
Blair - Full Review

Regardless of the comparisons critics will make to other bands, their sound is still very much their own, and the pop-magic that shines throughout the whole album will absolutely have you listening to it on repeat like I did.


Tripwire

New York City's playful sex quartet, Asobi Seksu, are back and looking to make up for lost time. With a new rhythm section and the same Japanese slang-derived name, shoegazing magic can be still be found on Citrus, but on their follow up to their self-titled debut, Asobi Seksu occasionally opt for the more straightforward approach. Instead of every song being bathed in the washy magic shared by Slowdive, Lush, The Sundays, and My Bloody Valentine, some songs, like "Goodbye", "Mizu Asobi", and the pogotastic "New Years" are more reminiscent of Velocity Girl, Popguns, Primitives, Darling Buds, or even a female-fronted version of fellow Big Applers Longwave. Both of frontwoman Yuki Chikudate's primary languages, Japanese and English, are lyrically represented, sometimes both in the same song. But, at its core, Asobi Seksu are a band fully exploring their influences and expanding upon them: guitars simultaneously drone and chime, drums rumble in the distance, while Chikudate's gossamer-like vocals float over the top like an origami boat on a still pond. Partner-in-songwriting-crime James Hanna even gets to showcase his vocals skills on the runaway musical train that is "Pink Cloud Tracing Paper". The production and songwriting skills have grown by leaps and bounds since their first record in 2004, but they've kept the shimmer and shine that made them so irresistible in the first place. As the sun gets warmer, let the summery delight that is the perfectly-named Citrus keep you company, bite after tasty bite, throughout the coming months.

- Jeremy P. Goldstein


Flavorpill / Chicago - April 25, 2006 / Issue #81

Asobi Seksu's dream-pop textures, wistful ballads, swirling guitar, and miniskirted frontwoman conjure up a late-night club in a Haruki Murakami novel, all atmosphere and solitude. Singer/keyboardist Yuki Chikudate sings in both Japanese and English, her girlish crooning and barnstorming laments engulfed in the richly textured guitar implosions of James Hanna. Influenced by - and often rightly compared to - Lush, Stereolab, and My Bloody Valentine, Asobi Seksu have clearly come into their own, as intense, beautiful, and complex as their creative forebears.


The Phoenix / April 24, 2006
Slow Dives: Shoegaze Standouts
By Nick Sylvester - Full Article

Asobi Seksu, “Thursday” (Streaming audio via Myspace) | Apparently Asobi have traded nasally pop vocals for something fuller, thank the Christ. “Thursday” could be this Brooklyn band’s “Maps” — pretty but not sweet, rocks but never wallops, mysterious but by no means obscure.


Charlatantric (link) / April 16, 2006

Asobi Seksu - Red Sea (Citrus, 2006)

When I listen to shoegaze, I literally feel plumes of smoke ejecting out the sides of my body. Call it psychological synaesthesia if you will, but my world changes when I listen to certain melodies. Being enveloped in a cloud of your own debris makes for quite the lasting impression. This is by far one of the best albums I've heard all year. It puts their acclaimed, previous album to shame.


Older Press for Debut album are here

Citrus - Released May 30, 2006
Friendly Fire Recordings (U.S.)

Released August 2007
One Little Indian (Europe)