souvenirs and lost luggage

I am leaving for Japan in a couple of hours. This will be my last post before I head to the airport. But no need to worry, I will update this blog throughout my three weeks trip... so keep visiting this blog!!!

Some may say that Asobi Seksu’s new record, Citrus, is a rip-off of Kevin Shields/My Bloody Valentine. I think Citrus is more like a modern version, if not a tribute to Kevin Shields and My Bloody Valentine. ...Let’s just say, Asobi Seksu’s music is enormously influenced by MBV, you can definitely hear that on tracks such as "Thursday" and "Red Sea"! Oh… and especially on "Strawberries", the drum rhythms sound extremely similar to "Just Like Honey". In my opinion, Citrus would have sounded like any other noise pop record if the vocal was carried by a male lead. On the contrary, Yuki’s layback and beautiful voice, as well as the way she incorporates both English and Japanese lyrics in Citrus, gives the band a peculiarly lively and unique dimension. It is true that at times, the music, in particular the guitar effects are so loud that it overshadows Yuki’s voice, but that fits perfectly with all the different musical elements throughout Citrus. Before ending this post, I want to leave you with one last thought: Yuki’s vocal style reminds me of a singer from the 80s or perhaps the 70s, but I can’t figure out who... listen to the songs below and see if you can tell me.

Strawberries
New Years
Thursday
Strings
Red Sea
Nefi+Girly
Mizu Asobi
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buy Citrus here