Asobi Seksu “Citrus” Album Art
Citrus is the second studio album from New York shoegaze band Asobi Seksu released through the label Friendly Fire in the United States and One Little Indian in the United Kingdom. Illustrator Sean McCabe designed the cover, as well as provided art direction and photography for the album. He has also done cover designs for bands such as Interpol and Spoon.
The cover artwork features the group’s lead singer and keyboardist, Yuki Chikudate, upside down surrounded by a bright orange backdrop and curved Japanese typography. She is holding a small arrangement of what appears to be branches or twigs to her chest. There is also a slight orange filter casted over Chikudate. The band requested that McCabe draw inspiration from psychedelia for the cover (Ross).
The music on the record features staple elements of shoegaze: massive distortion and layering, reverb, and blended vocals. But it goes beyond that. Asobi Seksu utilizes elements from dream pop to further create an atmospheric soundscape for listeners. Despite being based in New York, the band uses a mix of Japanese and English for the lyrics on this record (Capua).
Two songs from Citrus were placed in Skins, a British television series that aired from January 2007 to August 2013. One of those songs, “Thursday,” was also a single for the record, along with “Goodbye” and “Strawberries.” The placement of their songs in the series aided in increasing the band’s exposure.
Pitchfork, an online music publication site, reviewed the record shortly after its release in 2006. They have reviewed all of the other major releases from the band as well. In 2016, Citrus was included on Pitchfork’s list for the best shoegaze albums of all time and ranked 37th (Pitchfork).
In 2013, the band announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus and have reunited only once since to perform with fellow shoegazers Slowdive at their concert in 2014.
Works Cited
Capua, Kristine. “Album Art: Sean McCabe.” ALARM, 24 Apr. 2013, alarm-magazine.com/2007/album-art-sean-mccabe/.
Pitchfork. “The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time.” Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2016, pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/?page=2.
Ross, Daniel. “‘are We Depressing?’ Asobi Seksu Dispel the Myths.” DrownedInSound, 7 Nov. 2007, drownedinsound.com/in_depth/2537299-are-we-depressing-asobi-seksu-dispel-the-myths.
