Album Review: CSS - Planta

Ditching the dick to move forward as an all-lady four-piece, Sao Paulo indie disco faves CSS give us Planta, yet another middling release that shows flashes of greatness but doesn't get over the line. It's the same story that could be said for each of the group's previous three albums, where every cracking cut seems to be crossed off by a tune that's bland and uninspired.

When the sound moves through the speakers before the breakdown on opener Honey, you can pretty much pre-empt the electro rapture that spews forwards. It's a ripping start to the record, but soon you're floating through lines like “Never had a hangover till you” (Hangover) and the momentum is stunted in its tracks. Unhinged bass work bounces against the rasp of brighter-than-life frontwoman Lovefoxxx during Dynamite and somehow the ladies put a Brazilian spin on New York New Wave motive. Then, you're pushing through the hardened techno clunk of Sweet and you've instantly forgotten how much fun you were having not two minutes before. CSS have thrown a glut of ideas into Planta, but it simply doesn't work as a cohesive body of songs, the constant rising and falling of the music leaving you feeling underwhelmed far too often.

The 11-track LP kicks a little at the end. The quartet get it right on Teenage Tiger: the growls, the stuttering drums, the washy chimes – awesome. And Faith In Love is a stark closer that goes against everything before it to somehow work. But Frankie Goes To North Hollywood makes the journey to this gold as tedious as ever, which, by this stage, you pretty much expect.