CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy

CSS
Cansei de Ser Sexy
Sub Pop Records
Grade: A-

For some reason or another – possible the impetus of the World Cup and trips – Brazil has gotten cooler and chicer over the past few months. And when the dynamo six-piece of Sao Paulo’s CSS launch such gems as “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above,” you want to pack you bags and call Brasil your new home. Even if you only mildly enjoy electro dance punk, these eleven tracks of pure sexiness will get you moving, energized, and thrilled.

Originally coming together in Sao Paulo in 2003 through art scenes and Internet music/art sites, CSS (whose name comes from the Beyonce Knowles’ quote ‘I’m tired of being sexy’) started out on the premise of exploring musical outlets for a group of people with little music ability. It’s all based on raw, visceral emotion and energy and less regard for smooth production and tight transitions. Consisting of Matsushita (a.k.a. Lovefoxx) on vocals, Carolina Parra on guitars/drums, Ana Rezende on guitars/harmonica, Luiza Sa on guitar/drums/keys, Iracema Trevisan on bass, and the lone male Adriano Cintra on drums/guitar/vocals, CSS first drew attention on the music site TramaVirtual, whic led to the site’s label releasing this self-titled affair in Brazil. Somehow, and with glorious results, Sub Pop is releasing CSS’ debut in the U.S., and basically everyone should be thrilled about that – save for theother labels that missed out.

Uptight audiophiles aren’t going to like CSS – CSS is best reserved for earsplitting volume on the dance floor with sexy, art ladies moving to the beat. Even a close listen with headphones reveals the untightness in production of CSS, but such inspection is simply uncouth. Besides, the mostly awkwardly phrased and pronounced English is so cute.

The record opens with the tremendous anti-theme song “CSS Suxxx” – where the gang chants with the name over and over again. And while you’re mulling over what to make of the band, “Patins” comes riding on the white horse of indie rock. Focused on jangly, catchy indie guitar “Patins” is one of the few songs to match Lovefoxx and Cintra in vocal sparing, which is odd since the outcome is glorious. A seamless transition moves you to the Peaches-esque “Alala,” where Lovefoxx spits lines to a heavy electro beat and sound. With a smidge of Portuguese inserted, “Alala” grabs you thanks to the utterance of the title twice after each line. So, you’ve transversed several different sounds from CSS and it’s still unclear their direction, and then the beyond hot, brilliant “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above” smacks your ass. With the bassline and drumbeat starting then Lovefoxxx’s vocals and quirky synth line coming in, it is at this point that, first, you don’t care how to classify CSS and, second, you just want more. Far and away the best song here, it’s impossible to get tired of “Let’s Make Love” – it has the same viral indie potency as “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House,” but ten times better. Further, try getting lines like “Kiss me I’m drunk, don’t worry it’s true” out of your head. With a gruff entry, possibly as an ode to the song’s content, “Artbitch” is both a knock against the art scene and an acknowledgment of working within the inside. Before the ending lure, you get attacked with such great lines as “I have no portfolio and I only show where there’s free alcohol.” As the only real write-off track, you can skip past “Fuckoff Is Not the Only Thing You Have to Show” and move on to “Meeting Paris Hilton.” Used in the Latin American promo for The Simple Life, you wouldn’t first match the song’s title to the lyrics - but once you know, it all makes sense. Clinging to such lines as “I went to the bitch, the bitch was so hot/She came to me and said ‘do you like the bitch, bitch?’, the song is a slow sexy burner. “Off the Hook” moves back to a rock core and survives on the verse vocal cadence and the dancey, repetitive chorus. Circusey music introduces “Alcohol” and makes you nod your head side-to-side as Cintra and Lovefoxxx finally get back to vocal matching. “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex” title sounds better than it is and after it riddles an array of Portuguese off, the record closes on “This Month, Day 10.” Thumping bass, drums, guitars open “This Month, Day 10” before Lovefoxxx gets going and sticks the landing on the chorus of “I’ll be rude, I’ll be rude, I’ll be rude.” A wise choice for the closing number, “This Month, Day 10” encapsulates all the different sounds CSS has offered on the previous ten songs into one solid song.

In the world of sexy electro dance-punk, CSS’ artfelt songs set them apart from literally every other group in the world. The raw ingenuity suggests both a terrible and magnificent path for CSS in the near future. Either the eclectic six-piece splits up prematurely to pursue other avenues or they stay together, land a perfect producer, and offer the best record ever heard. Hopefully the latter and like eating gelato, we’re all winners.