Three years after the somber
Donkey,
CSS returned with
La Liberación, a fittingly named set that sounds nearly as freewheeling as their debut. They explore rebellion on large and small scales, from the punky title track's feminism -- which is delivered in Spanish, a first for
CSS -- to “City Girl”'s dreams of pink hair and black lipstick set to hard-edged electro-pop with a surprising trumpet solo. More importantly, the band sounds liberated from the expectations and misplaced ambition that weighed down
Donkey, and
La Liberación's tighter, simpler songwriting allows them to get their party back. It also lets them try on some sonic tweaks for size: “I Love You” begins the album by dabbling in French electro that turns the song into a fairly convincing club track, though
Lovefoxxx's musings on love (“You bumped into me and now my light is always green”) are as quirky as ever. Meanwhile, “Echo of Love” brings an island bounce to their new new wave, and “Ruby Eyes” chugs along like
the Strokes on spliffs.
CSS's collaborations result in two of
La Liberación's highlights:
Lovefoxxx duets with
Primal Scream's
Bobby Gillespie on the lilting reggae-pop love song “Hits Me Like a Rock,” which boasts one of the album's most endearing choruses, while
Ratatat turn “Red Alert” into one of those tantalizing moments when
CSS fuse their playful new wave and reggae leanings into something that reaches
Tom Tom Club-like proportions. While
La Liberación's try-anything spirit is admirable, the results don't always work; “You Could Have it All,” “Partners in Crime,” and “Rhythm to the Rebels” are a little too slight even for an album full of lighthearted party jams. Still, when
Lovefoxxx shouts “I'm gonna dance all night, even if the music sucks!” on closing track “Fuck Everything,” it's a reminder that
CSS just want to have fun, dance, and maybe fall in love. They may not be as confident here as they were on their first album, but
La Liberación's best moments are direct and fun, and there's no shame in that. ~ Heather Phares