CSS - Donkey
[Sub Pop]

Having burst onto the scene in the last couple of years with their quirky, sexy debut, the Brazilian collective CSS are back on the radar with ‘Donkey’, in a bid to consolidate the popularity they garnered through their association with the New Rave™ movement and what seemed like a countless number of E4 commercials for Ugly Betty and the like.

Compared with ‘Cansei...’, the smell of change is pretty apparent on first listening to ‘Donkey’, with the band adopting a noticeably different approach from the raucous style of two years back. The dizzy synths and rhythms are still in place, but where the first album went for unadulterated ballsy swagger, some of the opening lyrics of ‘Donkey’ unmask a sudden fragility to Lovefoxxx’s musings du jour: “Oh my god I’m so messed up/I don’t know which way to go...”

Irrespective of whichever creative/personal quandaries she may have been facing, the opening track ‘Jager Yoga’ still packs a decent punch, and its swift follow-up ‘Rat Is Dead (Rage)’ lends further weight to the theory that CSS are now dealing in breezy, yet emotion-filled electro pop these days, with the track focusing rather obviously on broken relationships with words such as “I know, I know, I know, I know he will never hurt you again” in the song’s chorus.

Away from lyrical subject matters, the structure to their songcraft may have altered slightly, but there are still examples to support the idea that their knack of writing a good pop tune hasn’t ebbed in any way. The funky riffs of ‘Move’ and ‘Let’s Reggae All Night’ are infectious (not to mention ‘remixable’) floorfillers in the making, even if the latter fails to grab the attention of the listener for its entire duration.

Although a few songs on ‘Donkey’ end up a little bit wide of the mark in terms of quality (‘Beautiful Song’, ‘Believe Achieve’), CSS should still find their new LP appeals to their established audience, and certain tracks have the potential to draw in a few more fans along the way. Something inside me tells me though that this project may end up running its course sooner rather than later, with bandmembers’ individual creative streaks (and overriding sense of fun) maybe not being fully satisfied within a group set-up which may struggle for direction when decisions are being made ahead of a possible third album. Prove me wrong, please.

‘Donkey’ Tracklisting

1. Jager Yoga
2. Rat Is Dead (Rage) (download a free MP3)
3. Let’s Reggae All Night
4. Give Up
5. Left Behind
6. Beautiful Song
7. How I Became Paranoid
8. Move
9. I Fly
10. Believe Achieve
11. Air Painter