La Liberacion

Spin (p.80) - "[With] club banger 'City Grrrl,' a sassy catwalking ode to teenage wish fulfillment..." Uncut (p.81) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "The sparkier LA LIBERACION goes some way to restoring their reputation as festival favourites with a brace of zippy electro-pop skanks..." Alternative Press (p.112) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The album's highlight, 'City Grrrl,' is a dizzying combination of burping techno squeals, celebratory horns and lyrics about letting your freak-flag fly." CMJ - "The first track, 'I Love You,' opens with high intensity, traveling down a rave-y rabbit hole, complete with Auto-Tune." Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "The best moments are the most relaxed, not least 'Hits Me Like A Rock,' a sun-drenched reggae number..."

Three years after the somber Donkey, CSS returned with La Liberacion, a fittingly named set that sounds nearly as freewheeling as their debut. They explore rebellion on large and small scales, from the punky title track's feminism -- which is delivered in Spanish, a first for CSS -- to “City Girl”'s dreams of pink hair and black lipstick set to hard-edged electro-pop with a surprising trumpet solo. More importantly, the band sounds liberated from the expectations and misplaced ambition that weighed down Donkey, and La Liberacion's tighter, simpler songwriting allows them to get their party back. It also lets them try on some sonic tweaks for size: “I Love You” begins the album by dabbling in French electro that turns the song into a fairly convincing club track, though Lovefoxxx's musings on love (“You bumped into me and now my light is always green”) are as quirky as ever. Meanwhile, “Echo of Love” brings an island bounce to their new new wave, and “Ruby Eyes” chugs along like the Strokes on spliffs. CSS's collaborations result in two of La Liberacion's highlights: Lovefoxxx duets with Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie on the lilting reggae-pop love song “Hits Me Like a Rock,” which boasts one of the album's most endearing choruses, while Ratatat turn “Red Alert” into one of those tantalizing moments when CSS fuse their playful new wave and reggae leanings into something that reaches Tom Tom Club-like proportions. While La Liberacion's try-anything spirit is admirable, the results don't always work; “You Could Have it All,” “Partners in Crime,” and “Rhythm to the Rebels” are a little too slight even for an album full of lighthearted party jams. Still, when Lovefoxxx shouts “I'm gonna dance all night, even if the music sucks!” on closing track “Fuck Everything,” it's a reminder that CSS just want to have fun, dance, and maybe fall in love. They may not be as confident here as they were on their first album, but La Liberacion's best moments are direct and fun, and there's no shame in that. ~ Heather Phares

まとまりすぎていてちょっぴり寂しさすら感じた前作から約3年。デビュー当時のヤンチャなディスコ・パンク感が戻ってきた。アルバムとしては統一感ないです。曲によって音色はバラバラです。けど、そこが最大の魅力! プライマル・スクリームのボビー・ギレスピー参加曲と、ラタタット参加曲とではまるで方向が違っているし、他にも寄り道が盛りだくさん。あのデコボコ大所帯な風体は見かけ倒しじゃなかったのね。
bounce (C)村上ひさし