#61 Seller of 2005! Asobi Seksu is New York's best-kept secret, but they won't stay that way for long. Formed in 2002 by guitarist James Hanna, drummer Keith Hopkin, and singer/keyboardist Yuki, Asobi Seksu eschews stylistic bombast and flavor-of-the-month posturing in favor of a sound that is intense, emotive, complex, and overwhelmingly beautiful, both earshatteringly noisy and quiet as the grand canyon at night. Yuki's vivid stories of loss and heartbreak, sung in both Japanese and English, soar above overwhelming squalls of deeply textured guitar noise that would make Kevin Shields blush. Comparisons to Lush, Stereolab, Blondie, and My Bloody Valentine may be partially accurate, but they fall short of fully describing the band's swirling, incomprehensible beauty. Mainstays at New York City's premiere venues, Asobi Seksu are a formidable live act. Perfectly executing both the rhythmic precision and saturated ethereal melodies of their first studio effort, the band delivers a riotously brilliant performance, subject to poignant moments of melancholia and unexpected euphonic implosions. Asobi Seksu's self-titled debut album, originally released in 2002, sold out shortly after its release, and is being universally rereleased by Friendly Fire Recordings in May 2004, with completely revamped, stunningly gorgeous artwork by Sean McCabe, best known for his graphic work with the band Interpol.