This album is as much about personal revolution for the band as it is about exotic pop charmers.
Planta is a frothy, lightly experimental electro-pop outing that retains all of the band's fun, dance-party energy.
‘Planta’ is the sound of a band rejuvenated, a diverse yet cohesive effort that tightens the sonic screws without losing any of the warmth and identity they’ve managed to create for themselves.
On Planta, CSS seem to have taken their time to create laidback background electro-pop, rather than banging out hit tracks that provide little more than three minutes of underground dance floor domination.
The pairing of Lovefoxxx and Sitek has resulted in a few highly combustible selections which burn themselves out quickly and with little lasting effect.
The recipe is basically stale electro-pop sprinkled with rock and reggae – and CSS include just two chunks of satisfying tuneage
Planta suffers from the same one-trick sameness that plagued Donkey and La Liberación, two albums that went relatively unnoticed considering their hit debut.
If CSS is accomplishing anything, it's the creation of a new hybrid: party songs so dull and insipid they kill the buzz before it even starts.
Planta then provides a passable imitation of themselves, but sadly it’s nowhere near as good as they were.
The last thing a band with the exuberance of CSS should do is make you feel glum. However, the Brazilians’ fourth is a tuneless, tiresome rabble of a record that does just that.
CCS used to be fun, although Planta feels like a very dull record. The up-tempo tracks lack joyfulness, so they ain't songs you’ll dance to death in a summer BBQ.
Sitek's characteristic production tricks (most blatantly delivered on Hangover and Sweet) give Planta, at least, a familiar vibe, though isn't enough to disguise the sloppy job they've done.
Added to that is the fact that Lovefoxx's vocal performance can be quite a handful. You’ll sure want to ... read more