On their second LP, Citrus, Asobi Seksu sound like a band that has come into their own. The songwriting on Citrus far outclasses the work on their self-titled debut, with tracks like "Thursday" and "Goodbye" standing as some of the best tracks of 2006. Stylistically, the album is at times both more and less shoegazy than their debut. Tracks like "Pink Cloud Tracing Paper" and "Red Sea" sound like they would belong on a Slowdive record, whereas the aforementioned "Goodbye" is more of an alternative power-pop track, managing to be both playful and smart. There isn't really a single track on this record that isn't worth its weight, and the sequencing is exciting and well planned.

Ultimately, for any fan of shoegaze, alternative pop, or luscious female vocals, Citrus is a must-have. And, for any fan that enjoys this record, definitely check out their debut, which is a competent, if not quite as dynamic, record. Definitely one of the best of 2006.

I can't believe someone would give this album 1 star. I bought it today and I just cannot believe how good this is. My only concern is that I did not buy it earlier. It has the perfect balance between ethereal Cocteaus and grinding MBV style discordance. Those are the two reference points (yes, this New York band are as far from American alternative music as it is possible to get) but it pushes them in all sorts of interesting directions.

I hate to admit this but I bought this CD based on favorable reviews and the song 'Thursday'. In short, the female singer cannot hold a tune and its quite distracting. While that song is appealing, the album as a whole suffers from her inability to stay in tune.

frist off, how can any one give this album one star is an absoult mystory to me.

right from the off, the wall of noise hits you between the eyes like a tone of bricks.

this album is an absolute sensation to listen to, I have not been as excited by an album in a long time, this is just epic

sorry if my review seems like a rambling mess, but i cannot put in words just how good this is, album of 2007? at this moment is gonna take something very sepical indeed to knock for the top of the list.

(Okay. My self-imposed goal with this Asobi Seksu album is to write a fair and solid review without giving-in to the temptation to fill the page with My Bloody Valentine comparisons. I mean, yea, Asobi Seksu do employ that wall of sound reverb that My Bloody Valentine perfected 20 years prior. And yes, Kevin Shield's band was among the seminal acts of the genre. But Asobi Seksu move beyond their influences and infuse themselves into most of the songs on this album. A detailed comparison of the two bands would be unfair to each).

Asobi Seksu is a shoegazey quartet from New York. The songs on Citrus, their second album, balance fuzzy guitar noise, keyboard washes, and infectious melodies. The guitar of James Hana establishes and frames most of the songs while the work of singer/keyboardist Yuki Chikudate makes the band distinct. Chikudate's girlishly cute singing, which alternates from Japanese to English, provide the hookiest moments on the album. She is not perfect. There are a few instances where the vocals detract; the off-key chorus yelped during "Strings" damages the otherwise perfect song and "Goodbye" suffers from an awkward transition between verses. But the bulk of the music is led by Chikudate's ethereal charm.

Of the 12 tracks on the album, "Thursday" is the strongest. Poppy vocals and steady beats slide over building strings and feedback. At well-positioned points throughout the song, the lush chorus fades to heighten the more atmospheric elements of the track. During these segments, a guitar and keyboard play off of each other and set up for the next change. The song's finale is marked with a deep barrage of sound and two vocalists, male and female, pushing their chords into the fray.

Another highlight is "Nefi and Girly." With its psychedelic guitar intro, bouncing beats, and punching vocals, this track borrows a bit of sound from the Stone Roses. The rhythm jumps and the guitar bends alongside of catchy vocals and contagious hooks. "Nefi and Girly," continuously sets itself up for points of erupting distortion. These blasts of sound intersect with the track's lighter instances and create a push-pull dynamic that makes the song as intricate much as it is poppy.

It is a pattern that is repeated on many songs throughout Citrus. Often, it works very well. On "Exotic Animal Paradise," however, it is less successful. The song lags for a full 2 minutes and 47 seconds, repeating itself in an empty, generic fashion, until an explosion of distortion rips through the speakers. The outburst is skillfully executed, but the transition from the first movement of the song is clumsy. It sounds less like the song's climax, and more like another track altogether.

Still, such cases are rare and, in general, the band has put together a solid album. Asobi Seksu is, at points, derivate of My Bloody Valentine. (Well... I tried). They recycle some already established genre staples, but they do so with flair, solid songwriting, and personal reinterpretations. Instrumentation builds up, drops out, and reprises with the moments of thick sound punctuated by falling emptiness. The band shifts enough sounds throughout the album to keep each of the tracks separate from one another while allowing enough common noises to suture the different songs into one cohesive album. Citrus proves that good shoegaze did not die in 1991.