[wimpLink artistId="17608"]CSS[/wimpLink]' fourth studio album and first release since parting ways with drummer/songwriter/producer [wimpLink artistId="5767778"]Adriano Cintra[/wimpLink] in 2011, 2013's [wimpLink albumId="44747375"]Planta[/wimpLink] is a frothy, lightly experimental electro-pop outing that retains all of the band's fun, dance party energy. Produced by [wimpLink artistId="3565237"]TV on the Radio[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="11861488"]Dave Sitek[/wimpLink], [wimpLink albumId="44747375"]Planta[/wimpLink] features all of the old-school-sounding synths and drum machines [wimpLink artistId="17608"]CSS[/wimpLink] have built their sound around since their infectious 2006 debut, [wimpLink albumId="337570"]Cansei de Ser Sexy[/wimpLink]. In fact, this time out, [wimpLink artistId="17608"]CSS[/wimpLink]' keyboard-heavy club sound, combined with lead singer [wimpLink artistId="5924952"]Lovefoxxx[/wimpLink]'s idiosyncratic deadpan delivery, sounds even more like [wimpLink artistId="14642"]Nico[/wimpLink] fronting [wimpLink artistId="15048"]the Tom Tom Club[/wimpLink]. This kind of '60s-meets-'80s aesthetic is actually pretty apt as [wimpLink albumId="44747375"]Planta[/wimpLink], named after the Portuguese word for plant, finds [wimpLink artistId="17608"]CSS[/wimpLink] cross-pollinating their new wave sound with a neo-psychedelic quality. Which isn't to say that [wimpLink albumId="44747375"]Planta[/wimpLink] is an obtuse or even avant-garde album. On the contrary, as with past [wimpLink artistId="17608"]CSS[/wimpLink] albums, they have a knack for keeping even their most bizarre and kooky songs well within the boundaries of infectious, club-ready dance music. To these ends, cuts like the languid "Girlfriend" and the sparkling "Sweet" envelop you in roiling waves of steam-driven keyboards, jangly guitar lines, and reverb-laden vocal harmonies. Similarly, "Too Hot" has a hypnotic, kaleidoscopic '90s Madchester dance vibe, against which [wimpLink artistId="5924952"]Lovefoxxx[/wimpLink] croons such surreal and sensually imagistic lyrics as "When you touch me so deep/I feel a fire all over me/It makes me burn like red hot chili/And like a snake I shed my skin" and "Your hair is like a lion...glowing with delight." This kind of loopy, poetic imagery is carried throughout all of [wimpLink albumId="44747375"]Planta[/wimpLink], and helps make it one of [wimpLink artistId="17608"]CSS[/wimpLink]' most creatively fertile and enjoyable pop organisms to date. ~ Matt Collar