Asobi Seksu

When Asobi Seksu’s breakthrough album, “Citrus,” came out in 2006, it filled a gap in underground music. Loud enough to satisfy My Bloody Valentine fanatics but pretty enough to entice indie pop listeners, the album acquired a large and diverse audience. The band soon developed a reputation for intense live performances fueled by pounding drums and passionate vocals, but listening to their new release, “Hush,” one would find this hard to believe. Leaving rock sensibilities behind in favor of meandering pop musings, Asobi Seksu has transformed into a far less exciting band.

Yuki Chikudate, the female lead vocalist, is known for her impressive vocal range, but on this album, she showily displays her talent without varying her style or expressing any real growth since “Citrus.” Her light and airy voice, somewhat reminiscent of Regina Spektor, never seems to descend from the highest octaves. On “In the Sky,” one of the album’s best examples of her limited vocal experimentation, she groups her phrases into short bursts, shooting up the octave over and over as if she was not yet content with how high her voice can reach.

Whereas “Citrus” fused dream pop with a healthy dose of punk attitude, “Hush” lacks any type of edge. Despite the occasional pounding drum, the songs never depart from the prevailing dreamy tone, making much of the album essentially indistinguishable. As “In the Sky” fades into “Meh No Mae,” the album reaches its nadir, with the next several songs just as unexciting as the previous. Even when they mix up the formula—like when guitarist James Hanna makes a vocal appearance on “I Can’t See”—any notable differences are enveloped by the overwhelming reverb.

“Me and Mary” stands out, however, as a pleasant surprise. This song gives the album a much needed shake awake with its faster pace and more aggressive tone. Cymbal and drum fills propel the song, hinting at the punk-ish attitude and raucous live shows they’ve been known for. Unfortunately, only two other songs on the album convey the same appeal; “Sing Tommorow’s Praise” showcases their shoegaze influences, creating a dense wall of sound rather than an delicate melody, while the volume fluctuations of “Sunshower” allow it to be pretty without being irritating.

The band’s disinterest with variety on the rest of the album is nothing short of frustrating. Someone felt the need to include “Risky and Pretty,” the album’s 45-second interlude, as a purely instrumental track with more of the same boring sounds, adding another useless track to the rest of the indistinguishable mess. As background music, “Hush” can be tolerable, even more-so when Chikudate stays quiet or knocks down her vocals a couple octaves, but as rock music the album can’t hold one’s attention.

Asobi Seksu fails to take a step forward with their music, and perhaps even ends up taking a step backwards. Their last album, “Citrus,” was a fun and exciting listen; “Hush” is anything but. There are solid segments when the music is muddled, the vocals are so high so often that it become irritating, and there are only three songs on the new album that Asobi Seksu can rock their audiences with. Though their sound can be pretty, it can also be pretty bland, and “Hush” leaves no more of an impression than its title implies.