Asobi Seksu is more than meets the ear

There’s a certain gracefulness to the foreign language band name. An air of mystery comes… There’s a certain gracefulness to the foreign language band name. An air of mystery comes attached.

Asobi Seksu sounds innocuous enough to American ears, but it actually means ‘playful sex’ in Japanese. But Asobi Seksu is no The F**king Eagles or even The Pussycat Dolls. Instead, this New York band leaves the translation to the listener.

The Japanese flair attached to Hush, Asobi Seksu’s third album, makes for more than just dream pop at its best and a cross-cultural modesty.

James Hanna lends his musical talents to Yuki Chikudate’s brand of edgy-ethereal pop. Her voice comes out impossibly high and resonant, making each song sparkle in any language. Her notes float above the never-quite-rough instrumentals, carrying a softness that is never sickly sweet.

‘Familiar Light’ and ‘In the Sky’ ring in angelic tones, but the edge makes itself known in the lyrics. Chikudate might be singing notes that fall on your ears like snowflakes, but it’s the talk of arson that reminds you that Asobi Seksu means business.

In a lower vocal register, the charm’s still there. ‘Me ‘amp; Mary’ is as infectious as it gets, hitting the ground running with a drumbeat that strengthens Chikudate’s soft notes. The drums take center stage as she sings of saying goodbye to ‘nappy time.’ The keyboard and sneaky English-to-Japanese phrases bring to mind the Asobi Seksu of old.

‘Glacially’ shows a side of Asobi Seksu that blends together voice and instrument in a style that’s a little less pop and a little more rock. It’s still sweet as cotton candy, but this time it’s the blue kind. That’s about as badass as cotton candy (or dream pop) gets.

Asobi Seksu is known to sing entire songs in Japanese, as well as the occasional lyric between English verses. ‘I’m Happy But You Don’t Like Me,’ from Asobi Seksu’s personal brand of power pop, fits in perfectly with the cadence of the Japanese language. On Hush, ‘Meh No Mae’ sounds, for all intents and purposes, like J-pop straight from the mother country.

For all listeners know, they could be singing, ‘Cheese crackers / Cheese crackers,’ but that doesn’t make the words any less beautiful or emotionally charged. That’s the anonymity of the foreign language band.

It’s been said that gonorrhea is one of the most beautiful words in the English language (according to editor and wordsmith Willard R. Espy). Why not let words just sound beautiful? Japanese swirled with lovely keys and soft-edge guitar in a sweet voice sounds like heaven. Word meanings aren’t everything in the pop circuit.

There hasn’t been such flawless musical multilingual fusion since Countdown Singers’ ‘Ninety-Nine Red Balloons.’

For most bands, it doesn’t matter much if its members are multi-ethnic, but for Asobi Seksu, it’s essential. This revisits the style of late ’90s Japanese-American pop band Cibo Matto (meaning ‘crazy food’ in Italian).

The bands are alike in concept, if not sound. While Asobi Seksu sometimes slips into Japanese lyrics, Cibo Matto chooses instead to sing about food in strange almost-broken English. But the comparisons stop there because Asobi Seksu’s just a little more dream pop and a lot less of the spoken word-backed tunes that Cibo Matto favors.

Here, Yuki Chikudate’s Japanese heritage dictates the style, texture and cadence of the music. Even its name wouldn’t be the same without a little Japanese. Playful Sex just doesn’t have the same ring to it as Asobi Seksu.

Foreign band names are interesting and colorful, but they can lead to some miscommunication. Just remember not to try to find common ground with the people you meet on your next trip to Japan by saying, ‘Hey, do you like Asobi Seksu?’ because you might be breaking a little too much ice.

Start instead with Tokyo Police Club if you’re looking for kindred music spirits. It’s not exactly Japanese, but you can’t misinterpret Canadian.