Asobi Seksu

The intro to Asobi Seksu’s second album is almost indistinguishable from something out of Kevin Shields’ repertoire. True to neo-shoegazer form, the American boys and their fey Japanese lady singer lay 12 sprawling pop tracks inundated in distortion, blazed through by high-pitched, indecipherable chirps. The band reference their favourite decades-lost indie acts with cheerful energy, injecting new enthusiasm into genres nearly sealed in history. Though they wear their influences on their sleeves, the revivalist dream pop they play is blissfully tweaked. "Pink Cloud Tracing Paper” blasts a new romantic riff under choppy Daydream Nation-inspired guitar chords, inflates the noise with helium and sends it soaring towards My Bloody Valentine fuzz pop extremes. Two tracks later, "Goodbye” introduces a melody recalled straight from Boys Don’t Cry-era Cure, then launches into a chorus so exhilarating that the listener immediately forgets the song is at least a quarter-century old. Asobi Seksu may be playing old standards, but they’ve successfully reinvigorated them. Fans of the old will find something beyond nostalgia, and newcomers will like it, period.