Sunday, June 10, 2007

CSS – OFF THE HOOK (SIRE/SUB POP)


CSS – OFF THE HOOK (SIRE/SUB POP)

Along with The Gossip, with regards to crossover appeal it has been Cansei De Ser Sexy that have really captured my excitement this year. I first heard about them (like everyone else) last year as the first few press shots from a balcony somewhere arrived on the scene and here was a band that looked very interesting, holding a lot of potential just from the mere/sheer colour they screamed. And they were on Sub Pop, something that will always make a person stand up and take some notice even though often these days Sub Pop releases are often gamble.

Anyhow, the record came out and it sounded OK, poppy and pleasant. I have to admit that initially I couldn’t hear any hits there nor anything with any real bite, the hooks were there but not in the gnarly kind of way to stop hearts from beating. The first song to initially stand out was indeed “Alala” as well as the various offerings dictating “fuck off is not the only thing” and “let’s make love”, crass statements it seemed only inserted for shock purpose. That was before they took context. Indeed, their standing really had not taken hold to the point that friends were confusing the band with those doddery old fuckers CCS.

So fast forward to 2007 and Sire have taken over the CSS license and now the release has gone into overdrive here in Europe and suddenly things are beginning to take shape. After the initial hints of the out and out star quality, attractiveness and personality of Lovefoxxx now becoming something of an icon sponsored by American Apparel it would seem. The video of their Coachella performance is perhaps the most aroused I have ever been by indie music.

“Off The Hook” is a truly great pop song, the opening exchange is wonderfully delivered in a way that makes you want to know and remember what they are saying, and sounding all the more striking due to the accents. Bouncing rather than plodding there is a genuine exuberance to the tale of the track and the hooks are genuine with enough in it’s arsenal to appeal to both indie and pop camps without spreading itself too thinly. Ending how it begins with an address from the Lovefoxxx, the way the band/music drops out with her continuing to expound is indeed pure magic. The b-side is the apparently previously unreleased track “Poney Money Honey” although it appears on my copy of the album. As a true flipside reflection of CSS, this song is just a keeper, a slow Pavement-esqe drawl and exactly the kind of flat energy that is not required from Brazil’s greatest kids. Good times.

Thesaurus moment: luxuriant.

CSS
Sub Pop
Sire

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