"Dream pop" and "playful sex" - the English translation of Asobi Seksu - are not two terms that one would instantly identify with screaming guitar and synth harmonizing over vicious rock drums. But Asobi Seksu knows how to play both sides of the "atmospheric" coin, and after a highly bipolar performance at the Bishop on Wednesday night (their first in three months), it made a lot more sense to me that they had been paired on the bill with local instrument-abusers Stagnant Pools.

For every moment that Asobi Seksu (consisting of frontwoman Yuki Chikudate and guitarist James Hanna mainly, but of four members on tour) brought the soft and pretty, there was one that was equally as vigorous - often coming right after, and often punctuated with their blinding strobe light. Still, Asobi's tonality never dismisses their fuzzy and texture-conscious brand no matter the size of their sound at any given time, so it managed to somehow never be harsh in transition.

It may not be the most evident thing when listening to most of their recorded material, but Chikudate and Hanna really like their crescendos, and they like them sudden and large. These moments where the songs would instantly shape-shift from lulling dreams to massive releases and Hanna would switch from gentle tremolos to rapid-fire thrashing on his turned-to-11 guitar (both on the volume and reverb) could only have been executed so precisely by a band with more than 10 years experience.

Given the contrast between Chikudate's emotive body movements in the spotlight and the lackthereof from the other three, you almost could have guessed that this was her show, and that her backing band was along for her ride. Whereas Chikudate would respond to a song kicking in as if she was literally, physically being kicked, Hanna handled these moments with a certain detachment not unlike the way Kobe Bryant reacts these days to hitting game-winning shots at the buzzer: "Oh, did that just blow you away? You'll have to excuse me for not flinching, I've sort of been doing it for a long time now."

And for her last act, she took a seat behind the drum set and capped off the encore by hammering a few bars of some impressive drum fills - surprisingly loud ones for a small lady, but perfect for this band.

Setlist:

New Years

Meh No Mae

Sighs

Trails

I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me

Perfectly Crystal

Leave the Drummer Out There

Thursday

Trance Out

Pink Light

Post and photography by Steven Arroyo

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