Asobi Seksu

The first music masterpiece of 2006 has been released, and it's called Citrus by Asobi Seksu. It's a stunningly beautiful shoegaze pop record. If you don't know what shoegaze is, allmusic.com defines the musical style as "overwhelmingly loud, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappear into the walls of guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument is distinguishable from the other." In other words, it's not really about the lyrics (which in Asobi's case, are in Japanese and English), but about the texture and vibe of the sound. Citrus sends you off into a soothing stratosphere where problems dissolve like lemon drops. It's that sweet.

Song samples: "Strawberries" and "Thursday"