Asobi Seksu – Fluorescence

Features artwork by acclaimed designer Vaughan Oliver (Cocteau Twins, Pixies).

When describing the recording process for Asobi Seksu‘s fourth full-length, Fluorescence, guitarist James Hanna said, This time, our agenda was to not have one at all; to be mellow about the entire process instead of obsessing over everything.

Maybe mellow isnt the right word, unless hes comparing the bands new album to a coiled-up cobra or unconscious crocodiletemperamental types that are one false move away from striking.

After all, Coming Up sets the scene by plowing into beehive-like synth lines and warp speed washes of dream-pop that leave you wondering just what the hell is going on.

Things dont let up on Trails, either, as singer/keyboardist Yuki Chikudate sets her immaculate melodies against a barrage of battery-powered chords.

Catchy and chaotic to the core, the sky-scraping song pays homage to the pitch-perfect songwriting of the 60s by chartering a yellow submarine to the moon.

And when the Brooklyn-based quartet (rounded out by bassist Billy Pavone and drummer Larry Gorman) finally hits the ground, their color-saturated soundscapes dont get dull or cold. They get even brighter, as Fluorescences many shades shift with each passing song.

That includes everything from the expansive/erraticand yet, oh-so-poppyprog movements of Leave the Drummer Out There to the weightless balladry of Ocean, a track that channels its title with swollen synths and beats that bob and weave through the murkiest waters around.