CSS: La Liberación

CSS is a tricky band. As easily likeable for its punchy dance-rock as it is dismissible for its lyrical detachment, the Brazilian act does little to shift that acuity on the new La Liberación. The album opens warmly enough: “I Love You” is the cutesy CSS from 2006’s Cansei De Ser Sexy, punctuated with noncommittal lines like “The rain is falling on my head / Bringing thoughts it never had / Like love and shit.” Following that, the dancehall-inflected “Hits Me Like A Rock” is a cushy out-the-gate hit (and first single) that makes good use of Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie. His polished delivery is a smart contrast to lead vocalist Lovefoxxx’s much higher and rougher pitch.