In Japanese, “Asobi Seksu” apparently means “playful sex.” Lead singer Yuki Chikudate is a fetching Japanese American girl from New York who sings — sometimes in Japanese — in a breathy style not too far from Blonde Redhead. And even with Chikudate trading Kazu Makino’s shrieky orgasms for J-pop chirpiness, the band is successfully provocative. Whether or not the gimmick is intentional is happily obscure.
Besides offering Puma-clad Vice dorks obvious masturbation fodder, these savvy indie rockers also lay down a perfectly recreated version of big-guitar shoegazer noise pop à la London 1991, upping the tempos just a little bit. (Think Elastica with sexy Japanese vocals.) That means that you may go to the show depressed over your recent breakup, but you will likely leave with a crush on the lead singer. First impressions will no doubt make you think Asobi Seksu is in fact the latest import from Japan — and that’s the idea. Closer listening, though, reveals the band has done its homework, and the hot Asian frontwoman joke is on you, sort of.
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2007.