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Asobi Seksu's new album, lineup, label & 2009 Tour Dates

Asobi Seksu

…The problem was trying to be an actual band, as in a fully functioning quartet that tours and records together. Asobi Seksu 1.0 lasted between 2004’s self-titled, learn-as-we-go-along debut and the spring of 2005. Hanna and Chikudate gave it a go with another bassist and drummer for their critically-acclaimed breakthrough, 2006’s Citrus LP, but it didn’t take long to realize that lineup was doomed as well.

Which leads us to the frustration that fueled the making of Hush, the group’s third LP and Polyvinyl debut. As Hanna admits, Asobi Seksu “was starting to get somewhere” post-Citrus, but they couldn’t ride a cresting wave of hype after a debilitating cycle of touring and personnel changes.

Hush was written while we felt destroyed,” explains Hanna, quite simply. Which is funny, because the entire record has a phoenix rising vibe to it-a clear sense of shimmering, dew-draped riffs and spiral staircase melodies that are occasionally blurred by bits of guitar violence and sputtering drums (see the firework finale climax of “Me & Mary” and the liftoff portions of “Sing Tomorrows Praise” and “Glacially”).

“We knew we didn’t want to do 7,000 reverb guitars this time,” says Hanna, “So we stripped the sound down and built it back up from there.”

Hush is out Feb 17th On Polyvinyl Records, and Asobi Seksu will be on tour throughout February and March, hitting SXSW, and making a final stop at Bowery Ballroom on April 2nd. Tickets for the NYC show are now on Am Ex presale. All dates below…

Asobi Seksu – 2009 Tour Dates
Feb 08 Southampton, UK @ The Talking Heads
Feb 09 London, UK @ Islington Academy (NME Awards w/Howling Bells)
Feb 10 Manchester, UK @ Roadhouse
Feb 11 Dublin, IE @ Crawdaddy
Feb 13 Belfast, UK @ Speakeasy
Feb 14 Glasgow, UK @ ABC2
Feb 15 Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny
Feb 16 Leeds, UK @ Faversham
Feb 18 Birmingham, UK @ Barfly (Dragon)
Feb 19 London, UK @ ICA
Feb 20 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Feb 21 Paris, FR @ Fleche d’Or
Feb 22 Brussels, BE @ Rotonde
Feb 24 Muenster, DE @ Gleiss 22
Feb 25 Berlin, DE @ Magnet

Mar 02 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
Mar 03 Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo
Mar 04 Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room at Crofoot Ballroom
Mar 05 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Mar 06 Bloomington, IL @ Illinois Wesleyan U.-Young
Mar 07 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Mar 10 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Mar 11 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Mar 13 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Mar 14 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubador
Mar 15 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Mar 19 Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mar 20 Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mar 21 Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mar 22 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
Mar 23 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
Mar 24 Memphis, TN @ Young Avenue Deli
Mar 25 Atlanta, GA @ Eyedrum
Mar 26 Chapel HIll, NC @ Local 506
Mar 28 Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
Mar 29 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Apr 02 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom