Asobi Seksu - "Rewolf"

One of the last sessions ever recorded at London’s famous Olympic Studios, Rewolf is an acoustic reworking of some of your favorite Asobi Seksu songs. Out now on Polyvinyl Records, it is their third release this year, including the Transparence EP and their stellar sophomore album, Hush. Most of the songs are taken from Hush, but also getting the acoustic treatment are “Thursday” and “New Years” from Citrus as well as a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Suzanne”.

Their wall of sound, electronics and studio tricks are replaced by piano, acoustic guitars, xylophone, voice and little else, spotlighting their songwriting skills on these bare bones remakes. The new arrangements are beautiful and remain lush especially on “Meh No Mae” where dream-like layers of instruments and voices fill every empty space with the spotlight on Yuki’s voice. Elsewhere, “Blind Little Light” is a simple take with piano and vocals that uncovers the pretty melody from under the original’s studio layers. The cascading guitars and multi-tracked vocals on “Familiar Light” are a standout as well as the upbeat, café-folk of “Urasai Tori”, whose original is found on the Transparence EP. The lightweight version of “Thursday” here may be the hardest to get on board with only because the original introduced us to their trademark sound, but is made more delicate with a French spoken word part in the middle of the song.

Overall, Rewolf is a nice addition to the growing Asobi Seksu collection, giving merit to their songwriting and providing an enjoyable, easy listening experience.

Available in limited edition 180-gram purple vinyl which includes free mp3 download code and on CD that includes a 16-song label sampler. www.polyvinylrecords.com

Download "Thursday" here: http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/shared/uploads/media.php?download=1&folder=media&secure_filename=00186_Asobi-Seksu_Thursday-Accoustic_192.mp3