CSS / La Liberación

CSS
La Liberación
(V2 Records)
* * * *

Three years is a long time in pop music, especially for its relative newcomers; elsewhere in this month's reviews, Ganglians are being mercilessly whipped by a reviewer for not having moved on from the reverb-surf sound of their debut album. What fate awaits Sao Pãulo's ultimate party team then, three years since Lovefoxxx last kicked our butts onto the dancefloor?

You can stop chewing your ears off with suspense: CSS have returned with an incredible album and likely their best work; 'La Liberación' high fives the summery electro-grooves of their past while pointing to an even more interesting future as songwriters with longevity and depth.

Before we get to the heart of things though, let's enjoy the peripheral cosmetics; 'Echo Of Love' uses tropical guitars and the band's own Brazilian background to drag us by the hand into a bonkers jungle party, while 'City Girl' uses fuzzy electro, trumpets and flamenco guitar to deliver a seriously swaggering club tune, with Lovefoxxx's hypnotising self confidence leading the way.

The record really hits its stride with 'Partners In Crime' however; using a simple yet heart-capturing melody, the song climaxes to an almighty 1920s-style romantic piano solo courtesy of Mike Garson - reprising the style he played so excellently on Bowie's 'Aladdin Sane'.

From here the tunes just keep on coming: 'Ruby Eyes' seizes the day with a righteously ecstatic chorus, while closer 'Fuck Everything' slam dunks the record through the basketball hoop with some elegantly wasted artrock.

It's hard to really mean something when you're a party band, but CSS have pulled the heart out of the beat with 'La Liberación'.