CSS

It was almost inevitable that from the moment CSS were lumped together with Klaxons, New Young Pony Club as integral to a brand new scene called 'nu rave' that the decline would be as quick as the initial rise was. In fairness to CSS, to follow up the excellent self titled debut album was always going to be tough. 'Donkey' clearly has its moments, but ultimately pales in comparison. I was however, looking forward to seeing how the new material would work in the live environment.

The first thing that was noticeable was aesthetically, there was is precisely zero difference between the stage lay out now than there was eighteen months ago. It's still the same balloons layout on stage, the same lighting system. Whilst I can recognise that the band has financial and space limitations, it is conspicuous that in the live environment, the total lack of progress was strikingly obvious. This was a theme that would be recurring throughout the gig.

Having seen CSS before, I still fail to see where exactly the novelty and uniqueness is. They are a good band, with good songs, but it's nothing that I haven't heard hundreds of times before. And, with the odd exception, most of the songs just blend into each other, failing to make any impression at all. It was not until singles such as 'Off the Hook', and 'Lets Make Love and Listen to Death From Above' that the crowd became truly involved with the gig. Therein lies the problem with CSS, of most songs blend into each other, then how, or even why, is the audience supposed to respond to them?

The tow aforementioned songs were the highlights of the gig. Not finishing with 'Lets Make Love and Listen to Death From Above' was probably a mistake. The audience was so into it that it was impossible not to enjoy it. The rest of the gig was however, for the most part, forgettable. Finishing with 'Alaha' didn't really work, and by the time the band had fired off confetti, screamed into the microphone a few times, the crowd had already started filing out.

Its not that the gig was bad. CSS are what they are. They don't make grandiose claims to be anything else. In terms of making upbeat pop songs that get the crowd dancing then its hard to suggest any improvement. But ultimately, that only has a limited scope and lifespan. The songs off 'Donkey' are pretty much indistinguishable from the songs off the debut album. As I've said, the live set is no different from what it was two years ago when they were the darlings of some of the more naïve parts of the music press. From selling out The Ritz in Manchester last year, to barely selling out Academy 2 is a clear step down. If they are to avoid this trend, then CSS will need to think of something new, because there is only so far you can go relying on balloons, cat suits and a few catchy songs from the first album.

FUTURE GIGS