CSS - Are still going places and moving up the bill

****1/2

CSS get sexual in the Amphitheatre

(Bristol Sounds Festival)

CSS **** 1/2 - Bristol Sounds was coming to the end of the final day. Squid had been forced  to cancel after breaking a hand in Glastonbury. This moved CSS up the bill to the early evening slot. A large crowd was assembling in anticipation before their set, despite it clashing with the England football – or probably because of it, let's be honest that wasn’t the most exciting football match. But it was probably the most exciting set of the day, so a good choice made.

CSS stands for Cansei de Ser Sexy to give them their full title, tired of being sexy, something we can all sympathise with I’m sure. This being in Portuguese as they hail from Brazil and first forming in 2003, they soon after got a large International response to their 2006 self-titled album. You knew they were here to party from the start, with Vengaboys blasting through the speakers to get that vibe going.enigmatic front person, Lovefoxx, then bounded on to stage before blasting into their first number ‘CSS Suxxx’ a song full of enthusiasm and zeal that set out their stall from the start. We were then informed the song is about oral sex, well may as well get these things out from the start. There seems to be a theme with ‘Music is my hot, hot Sex’ appearing shortly afterwards in the set.

The set continues with ‘F**k Everything’ and their biggest hit of ‘Let's make love and listen to death from Above’ getting the biggest cheer of the night. Yes, there definitely is a core subject to their songs content. Their performance is infectious, you can’t help but be utterly captivated by the raw energy on display. Final song ‘Alala’ a song in Portuguese and English, you can probably guess the thread of that song by now. It’s not just the music that’s entrancing, throughout the backdrop has intriguing images ranging from cats to Anime, culminating in subliminal messages to buy their merch. There are also three costume changes continuing the visual as much as audible entertainment, a layer of clothing being peeled off each time.

This tour has been entitled ‘It’s been a number of years’ as they had somewhat of a hiatus from around 2013, but this year they reformed for a UK and US tour. Apparently, this was the last time they play in the UK – possibly forever, but let’s hope that’s not the case as more people deserve to see this band live. So let’s hope that they enjoyed it as much as we did and decide to do it all again sometime soon. 

Review by Jon Cooper and Steve Owen (Icarus Photography)

CSS - Setlist
--------------------------
We like to Party (Tape Intro - Vengaboys Song)
CSS Suxxx
I love You
Music is my hot, hot Sex
Hits me like a Rock
Dynamite
F**k Everything
City Grrrl
Let's make love and listen to death from Above
Alala
We like to Party (Tape Outro - Vegaboys Song)

Check Out! the Video for 'City Grrrl' Below...