| Rating |
Summary |
|
| n/a by music.guardian.co.uk |
Their joyous hooks ensure Donkey is as fun as its predecessor. |
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| n/a by www.nowtoronto.com |
No sophomore slumping here. |
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| n/a by Billboard |
The upgraded melodic sense makes CSS stand out from all the other electropop bands that sound like Liquid Liquid and can turn a smutty lyric. |
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| n/a by www.prefixmag.com |
With its shameless pop-punk anthems and wonderfully irreverent lyrics, Donkey finds the members of CSS at the top of their game. |
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| n/a by NME |
So, yes, its a tougher collection than the first, lacking the merciless hilarity youd expect. But its also a strong step forward and one that proves they wont disappear in the changing breeze of fashion. |
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| n/a by arts.guardian.co.uk |
Often, Donkey sounds like someone has tracked down the anonymous session musicians who spent the 1970s knocking out polite covers of chart hits for budget-priced Top of the Pops compilation albums and got them to have a stab at replicating CSS's sound. |
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| n/a by Rolling Stone |
Donkey's plenty animated, but it lacks tunes that truly hijack eardrums, which makes it feel like a decent party--fun enough, but soon forgotten. |
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| n/a by www.almostcool.org |
Donkey is about what one might expect from the group for a second album. Those who liked their rough edges the first time around might find themselves a bit disappointed by the new sheen, but they'll likely gain more fans they they lose. |
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| n/a by www.tinymixtapes.com |
Whats important is confirming that you havent completely lost it, that youve still got the inspiration that made us listen in the first place--Donkey, however, is in danger of making us forget. |
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| n/a by www.hotpress.com |
Donkey is the mediocre second outing Brazilian electro rockers CSS – will it show that they have more substance beyond being a mere good-time party band? |
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| n/a by uk.launch.yahoo.com |
Mostly, Donkey is undone by a dearth of really memorable, infectious tunes. |
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| n/a by www.musicomh.com |
Donkey is not the greatest thing since the peanut Kit-Kat, yet there's some indie-tastic fun with a hint of electro punk, a bit like The Gossip but swapping the Ditto scream for Lovefoxxx's sultry, breathily seductive whisper. |
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| n/a by www.dustedmagazine.com |
For the most part, Donkey flounders in a sterile morass. It may well bring CSS to a larger audience, one that doesn't consider subversiveness an impediment, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing. |
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| n/a by www.uncut.co.uk |
Two years of constant touring, countless festivals, a loss of a member (bassplayer Ira) and the addition of Gwen Stefani's producer, and something's gone awry. |
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| n/a by www.slantmagazine.com |
CSS's sophomore effort, Donkey, is one of the year's biggest disappointments, then, because it jettisons most of what made the band interesting (that outsider perspective on global pop culture) in favor of a far more simpleminded, one-note focus on partying. |
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| n/a by www.sputnikmusic.com |
It fails as dance, as rock, as pop, and as art-rock or art-pop. Really, should we be settling for an average, inoffensive midpoint between all these, given all the music that exists in the world? |
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| n/a by Pitchfork Media |
The joycore bricolage of CSS is all but missing on Donkey. |
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| n/a by www.drownedinsound.com |
Its not as good as its makers first, given the flatness of the overall production which falls well short of capturing the dynamism of the bands live show. |
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| n/a by www.avclub.com |
Lead singer Lovefoxxx still has much of her earlier pep, but the lyrics (either her own or by bassist Adriano Cintra, who also writes most of the music) don't give her much to work with. |
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| n/a by Popmatters |
Long time fans may feel the slight pangs of longing for their less distilled ventures into sonic schizophrenia, but Donkey is a marginally strong, albeit strange, gut check for a band that has a tendency to shoot from the hip and aim for the kill. |
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| n/a by www.ew.com |
Despite momentary highs like ''Rat Is Dead (Rage)'' and ''Move,'' the entire album feels muffled by standard dance-punk grooves and generic call-to-party lyrics. |
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| n/a by www.spin.com |
The quintet mostly stays on message, doling out unpretentious poolside jams that recall ESG, Liquid Liquid, and the Human League. |
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| n/a by www.boston.com |
Donkey favors texture over attitude, and while the boozy, shouted choruses remain, CSS now favors a subtler approach. |
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