CSS don’t bop like on ‘Let’s Make Love’ anymore. The trashy electronics are gone. Instead, they try to sound like a ‘proper’ band, succedding in sounding a bit like Blondie circa ‘X-Offender’.
On some of the tracks, CSS do a believeable Blondie impersonation. My favourites are ‘Rat Is Dead (Rage)’, ‘I Fly’, ‘Give Up’ and the pop reggae of ‘Move’. Bubblegum pop with a punky attitude.
On the rest of the album, CSS don’t seem too comfortable with the new band thing. Songs start full of attitude only to fall flat on their backside. Take ‘How I Became Paranoid’ for instance, starts off all Clash-y with a fat ‘London Calling’ style guitar riff only to fizzle out in a Euro Disco rhythm.
The vocals cling on to the music almost uncomfortably, barely daring to change intonation. Except for the first single ‘Left Behind’ which overshoots the aim, ending up with lead singer Lovefoxx sounding like a Bjork impersonator backed by a wedding band.
Gone is the exuberant confidence of the previous album ‘Cansei De Ser Sexy’. With the vocals somewhat flattened and a generally much more glossy production, much of ‘Donkey’ sounds lukewarm. It’s a decent enough album but I just can’t get excited about it.
Listen Here to ‘Donkey’ and download the album from iTunes.
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