CSS – Donkey

• 30th Jul 2008

The Brazilian 5 piece are back with the second album ‘Donkey’ and they still have that flavour that made us fall for them. It’s hard to make an album that is better than the self titled debut, but they give it their best shot. It may be a bit more subdued and orderly but Lovefoxxx’s seductive vocals, draws you in.

The first single ‘Rat is Dead (Rage)’ is a mediocre introduction to their new album. You’d expect them to put out a single which had a bit more pizzazz, not one that is slightly repetitive and hard to get on board with. ‘Donkey’ is definitely slower than their debut. But it just seems like they are trying too hard to emulate the success of their first, and that is a mistake. It sounds more indie than electro which doesn’t work.

The second single ‘Left Behind’ is edgier and has an interesting vibe to it, but it’s not dynamic and it doesn’t stand out that much. If we hadn’t heard of CSS before and we heard these two singles, it would not arouse our interest, we’d move on and try and find something with depth.

The best tracks on the album by a long way are the low-key but utterly brilliant ‘Let’s Reggae All Night’. It sounds like it came out of the eighties and takes you back to a time when synthesisers were cool. Also the punchy ‘How I Became Paranoid’ gives you a glimpse of how good they were before this album.

It’s a shame when a band as dynamic as CSS, lose their way, we just hope that they find it again, soon. Please.